Heart of the Warrior Book III
by MadnessPersonified
Summary: Read Books I and II first. Harry encounters more trouble in the form of the most dangerous prisoner Azkaban has ever held, Sirius Black. More complete summary in profile.
1. Chapter 1: Tales of Harry Potter

**Chapter One: Tales of Harry Potter:**

_Sixty Seconds Before the End of Heart of the Warrior Book Two:_

"Into my fire you shall fall," proclaimed the Shredder as he sliced the gas pipe before walking off, leaving his enemies for dead.

Inside the janitor's closet, Mikey and Raph were attempting to desperately break out, banging their weapons into the door, in an attempt to break it open.

"We need to get out of here, now," said Leo desperately, looking at Harry's worsening condition.

"Working on it," said Raph desperately while pounding the bottoms of his sais at the door frantically as smoke started to come between the cracks of the doors in the closet, followed by the door beginning to burst into flames as the gas started to slowly leak in.

Harry managed to pull his Portus-Amulet out from underneath his shirt and his wand out as well. The Amulet could not be accessed during the entire fight, as he wanted to keep it out of sight so the Foot did not remove it to cause him to lose the powerful Slytherin artifact again.

"Everyone, quickly," muttered Harry weakly, gathering up all of his strength, struggling to even speak a few words. "I'm getting us out of here."

Raph, Leo, Mikey, Don, and Splinter grabbed onto Harry as Harry touched his wand, activated the Portus-Amulet and not a second too soon as the moment they disappeared, the building they were just in blew into thousands of tiny little pieces due to the explosions.

The Turtles, Splinter, and Harry landed in a dark, dank storeroom, deep underneath the Dungeons of Hogwarts. Mikey turned around and screamed at some newt eyes floating around in a jar.

"Where in the world did you bring us, Harry?" whispered Mikey looking around cautiously, as if the ingredients in the jar would come alive.

"Snape's Potion Store Room," said Harry weakly. "I just hope he hasn't left for the summer."

Speaking of Snape, he currently was in the stages of brewing a very complex potion, for the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher who Dumbledore just hired earlier in the morning. This potion required a steady hand and few knew of it, as it just came into existence a few months ago.

Snape's concentration was broken by the sound of something crashing from high above from his Potions storeroom. Drawing his wand, Snape walked towards his storeroom. Snape walked over, opening the door and stood agape at the sight of what he saw.

"Hi there," remarked Mikey in a calm tone of voice.

Snape shut the door of his storeroom, giving his head a shake. He wondered if he had been working too hard recently and was prone to hallucinations due to being around Potion fumes too much. It appeared that those four Turtle brothers of Potter and his rat Sensei had taken up shelter in his Potion storeroom but even Snape found that fact a bit difficult to swallow.

Trying again, Snape opened the Potion storeroom door again and the same sight that left him the last time, greeted him once again.

"So, I really am seeing four giant turtles and a rat in my storeroom," said Snape calmly. "I either am accidentally getting high on Potion fumes again or Potter is in some kind of grave danger."

The Turtles and Splinter stepped back and Snape saw a grisly sight, an extremely battered and bruised looking Harry Potter.

"Potter, what in the blazes happened to you?" asked Snape. Harry had faded out again and he could not answer the Potions Professor. Snape turned to Splinter. "What in the hell happened to Mr. Potter?"

"Long story short, Professor Snape, he was ambushed and chased across the city by dark forces," said Splinter grimly. "It was an ambush, nothing from Wizarding kind but merely a dark and extremely sinister criminal force of Muggle nature."

Snape nodded grimly in understanding.

"I shall assume Potter did not want Dumbledore to know of his condition but I must say, it is extremely risky for him to come here of all places," said Snape. "The Headmaster likes to check up on me all of the time so all of you must be moved to another location."

"So, what would you suggest," said Splinter.

Snape grabbed the Portus Amulet and pulled out his wand.

"Grab Potter and everyone hang onto me," said Snape quietly.

Leo pulled Harry over and the Turtles and Splinter obeyed. Snape tapped his wand to the Amulet and they pulled towards the seventh floor, in front of a tapestry of what appeared to be someone teaching trolls ballet.

"You are to walk back and forth in front this room three times, thinking of home," instructed Snape. "Remember to think you want any of you, myself and any of Potters friends to be allowed access at any time, but to prevent any meddling old fools from stumbling upon you. I will fetch Potter some healing potions, as he will no doubt need them to lead on his road of recovery. Good day to you all."

Snape walked off, smirking at pulling one over Dumbledore but the old man should have known better than to not order Snape to tell him if Potter, the Turtles, and Splinter arrived in the middle of the Potions storeroom. Any chance Snape would get to work around that Unbreakable Vow he would, as Dumbledore only ordered him to follow his commands loyally and without question.

"Now that's a pleasant lad," said Mikey sarcastically as Snape walked out of an earshot.

The Turtles and Splinter did as Snape instructed them and a door appeared where the tapestry once was.

"Whoa, how did that happen?" asked Raph in awe.

"Since Harry's not awake, I'll say it," said Leo. "It's magic."

Mikey and Don nodded their heads as they helped Harry inside the Room of Requirement which now appeared to be an exact replica of the lair back at New York, down to the last detail with the exception of working electronics, although the Turtles did not know they electronics that materialized were only for show yet.

"This room is so cool!" cried Mikey in awe. "Everything we had just like at home, here, in Hogwarts. It's like so wicked and totally radically awesome to the max."

"Someone ought to cut down his sugar intake," said Raph to Don, who cracked a weak smile.

Splinter helped Harry onto the sofa in the living room of the makeshift lair. Some blankets materialized, and Splinter pulled them over his son, with a pillow appearing underneath Harry's head.

Splinter walked over, putting the Portus-Amulet on the table besides where Harry was laying. They sat around for a couple of hours, watching over to Harry to see if he would respond but he didn't, as he appeared to be slipping further and further from the physical world. Snape brought by some healing potions for when Harry awakened.

"Now what?" said Leo, looking at Harry anxiously. Harry appeared to have lapsed in a high state of unconsciousness, his breathing extremely shallow, and he appeared extremely weakened from the blood loss from the battle with the Shredder and the Foot.

"Only time will tell, although we must attempt to desperately pull Harry out of his current state in any way possible," said Splinter. "The sound of familiarity is the best way to do it. Attempting to pull the mind out by giving it something to focus on is the best way for mental recovery."

"Let me try something," said Leonardo. "Hey, Harry, it's me, Leo. Listen bro, you can pull out of this, you can recover, I know you can. You have recovered from adversity before. Remember the time you could not go anywhere near a cupboard due to your misfortune from your times at the Dursleys and how you eventually got over that."

Raph gnashed his teeth in anger. His brother's time with those Dursley idiots was still a sore subject around the hot headed terrapin, as Raph would like to meet the Dursleys one day to have a few words with them, with his Sais in hand most likely.

"It took a while, but you managed to accomplish it," said Leo. "Remember Harry..."

_Flashback to when Harry Potter had only been with his new family for a few months after Vernon dumped him in New York when on a business and was only six years old at this present time. _

_"Hey Harry, want to practice your skills by sparring with me," said a nine year old Leo with a smile. _

_Harry sprang up eagerly. _

_"Sure thing, Leo," said Harry with a bit of a smile on his face. _

_"We need to the practice swords, so if you can go and get them, it will be a big help, so we can begin right away" said Leo. _

_"Where are they, Leo?" asked Harry curiously. "I can't wait to begin, so if you tell me where they are, we can get to practicing." _

_"They are in the cupboard right by Master Splinter's room, Harry," said Leo. _

_Little Harry's eyes went wide in horror, his time at the Dursleys no doubt coming back to him. _

_"C-c-cupboard," stuttered six-year-old Harry looking horrified at the prospect. _

_"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Leo looking concerned. _

_Harry sprang up, tears rolling down his cheeks, before running off to hide in his room._

"I later asked Master Splinter for advice and he reluctantly told me the Dursleys had imprisoned you in a cupboard for most of your time their, only to let you out to go to school, go to the bathroom once a day, and eat once a day," narrated Leo darkly. "The Sensei suspected while you might not be afraid of the darkness, the idea of cupboards of any sort terrified you on a subconscious level. Nevertheless, Master Splinter devised a plan with my help to help you get over your phobia, even if it was a bit sneaky and underhanded.

_A few weeks later, Harry was blindfolded, as what he thought was part of training for blind fighting. _

_"Now, Harry, keep moving," said Leonardo. "A little to the left, now a little to the right, now go forward, keep going, you're almost there, and now stop." _

_The blindfolded six year old stopped, unknowingly in front of the cupboard. _

_"Okay, Harry, now grab the door and open it," ordered Leo. _

_Harry groped around in the air but managed to grab the cupboard door, pulling it open. _

_"Now remove your blindfold," said Leo. _

_Harry did and looked horrified that he went near a cupboard. Harry backed off slowly, falling to his back. Harry then scrambled to his feet, the six year old scrambling as far away from the cupboard as he could._

"Still, we did not give up," narrated Leonardo. "Master Splinter and I were determined to make you face your fears."

_Harry was chasing Leonardo around the lair; Leo had his double-edged sword. _

_"Give that back, Leo!" yelled Harry, throwing his fist in the air. "I need that to practice with." _

_"You have to catch me first, Harry," said Leo. _

_The six year old had an enraged look on his face, that weapon was the first thing he had of his own, as he surely did not get anything from the Dursleys and Leonardo had taken it for some reason. Little Harry wondered if his brother had lost his mind or aliens swapped Leo's brain with Mikey's or something. _

_Leo ducked into a cupboard and slammed it shut. Harry stopped, backing off slightly. _

_"That was low, Leo," said Harry quietly. "Extremely low, you know I don't like cupboards." _

_The next thing the six year old heard was a frantic pounding sound from inside the cupboard. _

_"Help me, Harry, I can't get out," said Leo frantically. "I accidentally locked myself in." _

_Harry looked at the cupboard. Master Splinter was meditating, so he did not want to disturb the Sensei. The others went out in the sewers, doing who knows what. _

_Harry walked up to the cupboard, with trembling hands. He needed to get the cupboard open, as they did not allow much air or moisture in them, to prevent the metal ninja weapons inside from rusting. Thus his brother did not have much air left in there with him. _

_"It's just a cupboard, it won't hurt me," whispered Harry shakily. "It is because of those Dursleys that I am scared of them, I have to face my fear, my greatest, darkest fear and let my brother out." _

_Harry walked forward, trembling hand and raised his hand. He grabbed the cupboard and pulled it open. The six year old felt awed at the fact he did it. He went near a cupboard and nothing bad happened to him. Leo slid out of the cupboard, handing Harry back his double edge sword. _

_"You did it Harry, you conquered your fear," said Leo proudly. "Just wait until we tell Master Splinter." _

_Leo then pulled out a key from behind his back. _

_"Just so you know Harry, I could have gotten out any time, we just needed to have you conquer your fear," said Leo. _

_"So you basically tricked me," said Harry coolly raising his double-edged sword in the air. "I am glad I am not scared of going near cupboards any more but..." _

_Harry raised his double-edged sword and began chasing Leo around the lair with it. _

_"I'll turn your shell into a TV tray for tricking me, Leonardo!" cried Harry as he chased Leo around the lair, with his double-edged sword high in the air._

"If a remembered correctly, you calmed down, eventually," narrated Leo while cracking a smile. "It took a long time but you did it, eventually, although until you did, I begged Master Splinter not to stick me with you for sparring practice."

Harry's shut eyes twitched, in a bit of mild recognition.

"Hey Leo, I think he heard ya," said Raph. "Maybe talking to him does help."

"It is said that the voice of a loved one helps tremendously when recovering from brutality," said Master Splinter.

"Let me try," said Mikey before turning to Harry. "Listen to me Harry, you can fight this. You let nothing stand in your way of anything, ever. Even when I was being slightly annoying to you when you were trying to meditate that one time, you managed to keep at what you are doing and trust me, I remember.

_Flashback once again, Harry is now ten years old and the time is just a few weeks before the original lair got trashed by Stockman's mouser robots. A twelve and a half year old Michelangelo walks up to his brother when he is meditating. It was spring-cleaning time around the lair and all the ninja weapons were lying out on a table as a result of this. _

_"Hey, Harry," said Mikey loudly. "Whatcha doing?" _

_"I'm meditating, Mikey," said Harry in a calm voice, still sitting on the ground, with his eyes shut. "Could you please go? I would like to be able to concentrate." _

_"Why, am I disturbing you?" asked Mikey, before leaping around Harry, hollering and making a lot of racket, which was breaking Harry's concentration. _

_"Mikey, quit it," said Harry although he was starting to slowly lose his temper. _

_Mikey was jumping up and down on the couch making a lot of racket, still breaking Harry's concentration. The turtle may have ingested a bit too much sugar. Harry felt he was exercising every bit of will power to not snap. _

_"This is your last warning, Mikey," said Harry. _

_Mikey leaped over Harry, knocking him from the breeze from his leap. This was the straw that broke the camel's breath. _

_The weapons on the table started shaking before shooting at Mikey. Mikey gave a piercing shriek and the weapons chased the Turtle around the lair. Harry opened his eyes, in awe, wondering what he did. Mikey ducked into his bedroom and shut the door. The weapons impaled through the door but Mikey was underneath his bed, shaking. _

_"Note to self, never disturb Harry again when he is meditating," said Mikey._

"In retrospect, I believe that was one of the first instances of your gift showing that we saw," said Mikey. "You accidentally called your magic in an attempt to shut me up. Harry, call your magic to you again and have it wake you up."

The Turtles and Splinter stood around Harry, but Harry still lay passed out from the damage the Foot caused him.

Speaking of the Foot, meanwhile back in New York in the Foot's Skyscraper Headquarters, Oroku Saki was pacing back and forth his throne room. Hun looked rather confused with his Master's behavior and decided to slowly bring it up.

"Master, profits are up, business is booming, and the Turtles and Potter have been destroyed," said Hun. "So why aren't we celebrating?"

Saki glared at Hun angrily before sitting down on a chair.

"Where are the bodies?" asked Saki angrily.

"Sir, that place blew to bits, burned all the way to the ground," said Hun. "So we can assume..."

Saki interrupted Hun by slamming his fist into a table in front of him.

"We can assume nothing!" thundered Saki. "My enemies thought of me destroyed in the past and this assumption cost them dearly. I can ill afford to make the same mistake. I must have proof of their demise before moving on to my other plans of operation."

"Hard, factual scientific data perhaps," said a pompous voice.

Saki looked up and saw Baxter Stockman wheeling into the room. Due to the fiasco with the Foot Tech Ninjas, Stockman had his entire body from the waist down removed by him for failing. A circular motorized device with wheels replaced his lower body, which had been removed at the hands of the Foot. Stockman also sported a neck brace and a metal hand, as Saki also removed his hand as part of Stockman's payment for failing him the last time.

"I did not summon you, Stockman," said Saki in a dangerous tone of voice.

"That was your first mistake," said Stockman pompously while holding up a complex piece of scientific equipment with his non-metal hand. "I can offer you proof of the demise of your enemies, this little piece of equipment will be the ticket. I can offer you detailed DNA analysis to see if anyone perished from the explosion at that warehouse."

"And I suppose you want something in exchange for this," said Saki calmly.

Stockman glared greedily at the exosuit the Foot fished out of the river.

"Only a simple exchange of goods and services," said Stockman. "I will give you the information and you can allow me full access to this fascinating artifact. A small glance of this artifact allowed me to create the Foot Tech Ninjas, no doubt full access would allow me to create technology undreamed of which could greatly benefit your organization."

Saki considered the proposal before responding.

"Deliver me the goods, Doctor Stockman, and you will be rewarded," said Saki. "Fail me and your next punishment will be your last."

Stockman gulped in horror before setting off to attempt to collect information of the demise of the Turtles and Potter. He must come back with something, or the Shredder would kill him for failing him once again.

Back at the Room of Requirement the Turtles and Splinter were still gathered around Harry. Harry still had not come out of his condition.

"We must keep trying to bring Harry out of this," said Splinter. "No doubt his spirit has been crushed after the beating he suffered at the hands of the Foot, no doubt he blames himself for this failure and our near demise at the hands of the Shredder. Blaming himself for not able to assist you four during the battle with the Shredder's Elite Guard. Mental scars are most times more difficult to overcome than physical ones but we must keep trying."

Don looked up with an anxious look on his face.

"Let me take a crack out it," said Don. "Harry, this problem you are undergoing with you somehow not waking up, this is not like you at all. You always enjoyed tackling a good problem, no matter how long it takes."

_Flashback to Seven Year Old Harry and Ten Year Old Don test a remote control airplane in the sewer. The test flight was not going as they planned. _

_"I thought I had it working," said Don in irritation. _

_"Maybe it's something to do with it needing more air to propel itself, as we are in the sewers," suggested Harry, shrugging his shoulders. _

_"You know, you may be right, Harry," said Don. "The wind residence on the wings help keep it up into the air and regular planes have all kinds of hydraulics but we have to make do with more primitive materials because of our residence in the sewers." _

_Harry nodded, frowning. _

_"Let me go look for something," said Harry. "I will need to test this out but it might help us to be able to make this work." _

_An hour later, Harry returned with a couple of old box fans, and was attempting to slowly take them apart. _

_"Would an old fan motor work, Don?" asked Harry. _

_"It may, Harry," said Donatello nodding. "The blades from the fan can be used to propel the plane into the sky, but only if we give it a running start to make it work."_

"After days of painstaking research, with you suggesting various ideas to attempt to make the plane work, we eventually found the plane satisfactory enough to take to the skies or at least the upper levels of the sewers," narrated Don.

_"We are ready, Don," said Harry, from high above a sewer pipe. _

_"Got it, Harry, now give it a nice push, allowing it to give momentum," said Don, pulling out a remote control. _

_Harry pushed the plane and it zoomed across the sewer pipe, before flying off. Don piloted it with use of the remote control device he rigged up from some old circuits and wiring he found in a garbage dump. _

_The plane flew, maintaining its position in the air. _

_"We did it," said Don happily. "Harry, you're a genius." _

_"No, I'm just stubborn," said the seven year old quietly. "Plus, you did just as much work, Don." _

_Donatello agreed, piloting the toy plane wherever they could in the sewer. Now was the matter of getting it down but Don would worry about that fact later._

"So, Harry, do try and solve the problem of your condition," said Don. "Please try and wake up."

Raph growled in frustration.

"Come on Harry, get up," said Raph irritably. "You fought evil Dark Lords, giant snakes, and who knows what else but you can't get up from a battle with some Foot Ninja. You know what I think, I think you are too afraid to get up and face what happened."

"Cool it Raph," said Leo warningly.

"Harry, you need to get up and get up now," said Raph. "Even when the odds were against you, you struck back and endured. Remember the first time we encountered the Purple Dragons. I remember it quite well but allow me to refresh your memory."

_Nine-Year-Old Harry and a Nearly Twelve Year Old but not quiet Raph was currently playing hide and seek in the sewers. _

_"Okay, Harry, it's your turn," said Raph. "I get a two minute head start to hide myself and now you got to find me." _

_Harry nodded, using his sense of hearing to attempt to learn which direction Raph went, but another sound was heard from above. The nine year old climbed the ladder and pushed the manhole lid off, with just a little bit of difficulty. _

_"All right, pay up," said the voice of the Purple Dragon known as Dragonface who was accosting a shopkeeper. _

_"But, I don't have that much money," said the shopkeeper in a terrified voice. _

_"Don't yank my chain, pops," said Dragonface. "The big boss runs this neighborhood and he wants you to pay up to be allowed on this turf." _

_The Shopkeeper ducked behind the cash register, pulling out a gun pointing it at the offending thugs. _

_"S-s-stay back," said the Shopkeeper. "I know how to use this." _

_Another Purple Dragon pulled out a pipe and knocked the gun out of the shopkeeper's hand. _

_"Now who's the big man, pops," said the Purple Dragon known as Two Ton, who was swinging a chain in his hand. _

_"Yeah, let's show him it ain't nice to play with guns," said the Purple Dragon called Spike, with a crowbar in his hand. _

_Harry looked through the window, pulling out his double-edged sword. The Purple Dragons turned and looked at the boy. _

_"Stand back, you punks," said Harry in a dangerous voice or at least dangerous for a nine year old. _

_The Purple Dragons laughed at the nine year old, not taking him seriously. _

_"Oh, this little brat is going to make us pay, I'm so scared," said Dragonface in mock terror before pulling out a club. "Let us see what this little snotrag has." _

_Dragonface raised the club but Harry grabbed it out of his hand quickly and tossed it to the side. _

_"Ya know what, I don't need a weapon to beat cha, kid," said Dragonface pompously before raising his fist but Harry ducked and before he knocked Dragonface down with a kick to the back of the head. _

_Dragonface flew down before getting up. _

_"Get him ya mugs, pound him into paste," growled Dragonface to his fellow dragons Two Ton, Spike, and Buzz. _

_The Dragons rushed Harry, holding up their weapons. _

_Raph popped up, looking up, wondering what was taking his brother so long but he saw his brother was about to be crowned by those street thugs. _

_Raph popped up, before throwing his Sais. Direct hit as it severed a light fixture, trapping the Dragons underneath. With quickness, Harry quickly propelled himself into the air and aimed a kick right towards Dragonface, knocking him right through the window. _

_"Ya haven't seen the last of the Purple Dragons, ya little bastard," growled Dragonface before retreating. His fellow Dragons pulled themselves up and followed as Harry ducked out, joining his brother to resume their little game after its impromptu intermission._

"Beat the odds now, Harry," said Raph, turning away so the others could not see tears rolling down his face and have it ruin his tough guy image. "Wake up. I don't know what we would...what we would do without you."

Harry's body twitched but he still did not wake up. Splinter got up, putting his hand on Raph's shoulders.

"Your brother hears you, Raphael," said Splinter. "He understands."

The Turtles and Splinter remained standing around quietly, waiting.

Back in New York, Stockman along with some of his mouser robots examined the wreckage for any body parts that could be identifiable but even with Stockman's DNA analysis equipment; he could not find anything within the wreckage.

"I don't understand, this is the place, I searched the entire area but I can't find anything that indicates anything mutant or otherwise perished in the explosion," said Stockman. "But I can't go back to the Shredder empty handed, he'll finish me off, for good."

Stockman shuddered at the very thought but a simple find saved his backside. One of the mousers walked up to Stockman, with the ribbon that Raph had tied to the bottom of his Sais in its jaws. Stockman took it from his creation, a sinister idea forming in his brilliant mind.

"So, if I cannot find any evidence, I will make evidence," said Stockman as he used his metal hand to punch two eye holes in the red ribbon to make it look like a bandanna before doctoring his findings on his DNA analysis equipment so he could fool the Shredder with false evidence on the demise of the Turtles, Splinter, and Harry Potter.

Back at the Room of Requirement, Harry still had not recovered. Splinter decided to try his hand of bringing his son back to consciousness. Harry had been out for at least six hours now and his lack of response started to become rather troubling.

"Harry, my son, listen to me, focus on my voice," said Splinter. "I understand failure has been a thing that has caused you great uneasy in the past but did you not forget our meeting with the Sensei of my Sensei, Hamato Yoshi. The time I took you to Japan on a trip and you had the privilege of meeting the Ancient One. I would like to take you back to that time, in an effort to remember the lesson you learned on that trip."

_Eight Year Old Harry and Master Splinter had just arrived in Japan. _

_"Harry, we are taking this trip for a very express purpose," said Splinter. _

_"Because you don't trust my brothers to control me without you there, right Sensei," said Harry mischievously. _

_"Well that and the fact your training has hit a wall that I wish to remove but I will need a little assistance," said Splinter. "The recent slowdown in your skills has been caused only by a lack of confidence. This lack of confidence is triggered by your ability to see that you can fail. No doubt shadows of your past with those other guardians of yours, which we shall never speak of, are still plaguing you as the slightest failure sends you into many mistakes that greatly effect your performance." _

_Splinter and Harry walked a ways, including a short trek up a very steep mountain before reaching a temple at the top. _

_"This, my son, is the home of the Ancient One," said Splinter. "He was the one who trained my Sensei, my beloved Master Yoshi." _

_Harry nodded, taking in the features of the temple. It was quite an impressive work. A moment later, a Japanese Man with long white hair and a white beard with a mushroom hat wearing a robe walked out of the temple. _

_"Nice hat," said Harry, who could not resist. _

_"Well thank you, young one," said the man before seeing Splinter. "Splinter-San, tell me, what brings you to my humble home." _

_"Ancient One, I am just popping in for a visit and would like to ask you for some advice while I am here," said Splinter. "This is my youngest son, Harry. I have told you about him, the one we found in New York when his old guardians from Great Britain abandoned him. They were not fit to look after children, after some of the things I learned they did to Harry." _

_"Ah, Harry, a pleasure to meet you for sure," said the old man. "My real name is too long and complex to speak at this time and it would take up half the day to tell it to you, so you may call me the Ancient One." _

_Harry nodded but he could smell something. This Ancient One had chocolate and Harry was addicted to two things at this time or any time for that matter. Chocolate and Pizza, and they were even better when mixed. _

_"So what was your son's old guardian's name," said the Ancient One, with a mischievous glint dancing in the old man's eyes. _

_"Ancient One, you are up to something, aren't you," accused Splinter. _

_"No just curious," said the Ancient One in what he perceived to be an innocent tone of voice. _

_"Dursley, if I am not mistaken," said Master Splinter _

_"Hmm, Dursley, nope never heard of him," said the Ancient One before adding in an undertone. "Note to self, find out who this Dursley is, send them box of chocolate crammed with laxatives. Many hours in bathroom be a suitable revenge." _

_The Ancient One looked up, he may have been a seventy five year old man but he had the maturity level of a young child sometimes. _

_"Just clearing my throat," said the Ancient One before reaching into his pocket. "Now where is my chocolate?" _

_The Ancient One looked frantic when he could not find his chocolate._

_"My chocolate, my chocolate, no, it's gone!" cried the Ancient One. _

_The Ancient One looked rather upset but Master Splinter had a theory. _

_"Harry, did you steal the Ancient One's chocolate," asked Splinter sternly. _

_"Maybe," said Harry meekly, the chocolate remains smeared around his mouth, giving it away. _

_The Ancient One looked at Harry and Harry backed off slightly before the Ancient One laughed. _

_"Oh, tricked by a young one, this old man is getting a bit weak and is slipping," said Ancient One. "You earned that chocolate fairly, young one. Now Splinter-San, you wanted to discuss some business with me." _

_Splinter nodded before the two had a conversation in Japanese. Harry was not proficient enough in the language to understand yet, although he would master in a couple more years. _

"The Ancient One came up with a plan that may prove to be effective," said Splinter. "His methods are normally a bit strange but they do their job every time."

_At night, Harry was in the room, when the shadows in his room began to move. The boy attempted to pull his door opened but he was unable to open it. Harry sprang up, looking bit unnerved as they circled around him, hissing in a spooky manner. _

_"We have been waiting a long time to have a word with you, Harry Potter," hissed one of the shadows. _

_"You need to learn a very simple lesson," hissed the second shadow. _

_"We will be the ones to teach you," hissed the third shadow. _

_The shadows circled Harry and knocked him down. Harry sprang up, attempting to attack but his efforts were all in vain as the shadows could harm him but he could not harm them. _

_"Much like the shadows of past failures, we will harm you but only if you let us to harm you," hissed the first shadow. _

_"Just who are you anyway," said Harry in terror. _

_The shadows began to laugh before morphing into three spectral duplicates of Harry. The eight year old looked up, gaping in horror. _

_"We are your worst enemy, Harry Potter," hissed the shadows in unison. _

_"Wait, you are me," said Harry in terror. _

_"Exactly, we show you exactly what you should see, your own worst enemy at this present time," hissed one of the shadows. _

_"That worst enemy is you, as long as you cloud your mind with the shadows of your failures," hissed the second shadow. _

_"Letting your failures get to you will be your destruction and your demise," hissed the third shadow. _

_Harry was more intelligent than the average child at eight years old and could take in a lot more without getting freaked but even this made Harry sit up to take notice. _

_"It's not my fault, it's not my fault, I tried my best, I could not do any better!" cried Harry. "I DID THE BEST I COULD! Why does my past failures continue to haunt me." _

_The shadows gave one final hiss before disappearing as suddenly as they appeared and the Ancient One opened the door before walking into the room. _

_"Then why do you beat yourself up over failure, Harry Potter," said the Ancient One. "An old saying you should take to heart is one that never fails, never learns. Perhaps you should apply that, as your abilities will become more efficient." _

_Harry looked at the Ancient One and the Ancient One remained quiet before talking. _

_"So, tell me Harry, what did you learn from this old fool on this night," said the Ancient One. _

_"Well I learned that I could not let my past failures get in my way and should not let them bother me as..." started Harry before the Ancient One pulled out a staff and tapped Harry gently on the head. _

_"Too many words," said the Ancient One sternly. "Explain, simply." _

_"I'm my own worst enemy," said Harry simply. _

_"Exactly, you should not let your failures dwell," said Ancient One. "Remember them but do not stress over them. Use them to enhance your skills rather then dilute them due to lack of confidence. Turn your failures into successes."_

"That is what I want you to do, Harry," said Splinter. "Turn this failure into a success as well. Come back to us, my son. There is nothing to fear by failing."

Harry began to stir weakly.

"No fear by failing," repeated Harry weakly before opening his eyes.

"Harry!" cried the Turtles in unison.

"You came back," said Raph. "I always knew you could as stubborn as you are."

"Exactly, Harry," said Leo.

"You got that right," said Don.

Ditto," said Mikey.

"Welcome back, my son," said Splinter.

"I couldn't do it without you guys," muttered Harry weakly. "I was nearly gone, nearly let myself vanish, I nearly let the loss to the Shredder and the Foot kill me but you brought me back. Thank you."

"Take these Potions, Professor Snape has brought over," said Splinter, assisting Harry in taking them. "And get some rest so you can be back on your feet in no time."

"I took you to Hogwarts, didn't I?" muttered Harry as he took one of the healing potions.

"Yes, you did, Harry," said Don.

"I'll stress about how I am going to keep you guys from being seen once I get some sleep," said Harry weakly. "Good night, everyone."

"Good night, Harry," muttered Raph, with a relieved look on his face as the others nodded.

As Harry drifted off to sleep, back in New York, Stockman was making his report to Saki.

"This is your evidence proving the demise of the Turtles and Potter," said Saki incredulously holding up what appeared to him to be a red headband.

"No, that is merely a trophy of your great accomplishment. Consider it a gift. Here's the real proof," said Stockman, holding up his DNA Analysis invention, showing all the data he doctored to trick the Shredder. "Conclusive DNA evidence, both mutated and human, which can only draw one conclusion."

"The Turtles and Potter perished in the explosion," said Saki looking happy. "Excellent work, Stockman."

"Now as for my reward..." started Stockman with a greedy glint in his one eye.

"I will have a group of Foot technicians deliver it to your laboratory tomorrow morning," said Saki. "Now if you excuse me I have other pressing matters to deal with."

Saki walked off as Stockman watched him leave. After Saki had gone, no one was on that level of the Foot Skyscraper Headquarters but Stockman.

"The fool bought it, he swallowed my bait," said Stockman. "With the artifact at my hands, I will create the means in which to destroy him. He will rue the day he ever thought Doctor Baxter Stockman was a mere subordinate. Shredder will pay for his mocking of my genius. When the time is right, I will use the technology I create to destroy the Shredder myself."

With no one else nearby, Stockman decided to rehearse his evil supervillian laugh. It was decent enough but the laugh had nothing on Shredder's, who was the master of such things. Stockman began to make plans for his revenge for all the punishment Shredder inflicted on him.


	2. Chapter 2: Black Misfortune

**Chapter Two: Black Misfortune**

The Wizarding prison known as Azkaban held many of the most vile and cruel dark wizards in all of Great Britain and perhaps the world. Many spent the prime years of their life due to high crimes as dark wizards, getting every happy memory sucked dry from them, until they became soulless and evil much like those who guarded the prison.

Oh yes, the guards of the prison were just as evil as many of the prisoners. Soul sucking, rotten, nasty things these guards were. The Dementors were not creatures a person would want to meet in a dark alley or any other place for that matter.

Fog surrounded outside the prison, due the Dementors breeding. For Dementors this occurance is accomplished once a Dementor consumes enough emotion, it splits in half before forming two Dementors, just as powerful and vile as the single Dementor that bred them.

One prisoner was above all of the others, locked in the highest security cell. His name was Sirius Black and if you heard what the outside world said, you would think of him to be the epitome of evil. He was said to be second in command of the Death Eaters, just behind Lord Voldemort himself. Twelve Years ago, evidence pointed to the fact he killed thirteen people, twelve Muggles and a wizard with a high power dark arts spell. A shockwave curse blasted apart the whole street, killing everyone it touched. Sirius did not do at, as another did it, but since when did the Ministry of Magic ever listen to reason. They bumbled beyond even their worst and the real culprit got free. Sirius wished he could wring the neck of the traitor right now. To top the Ministry justice system off, Sirius never got a trial, which irked Black to no end as several top ranking Death Eaters got trials, including the evil in the cell right across from him.

Sirius shivered, he could sense the Dementors coming. They taunted him more than all of the other prisoners combined. This little predicament could be bad enough on its own but another high security prisoner taunted him from across the passage way.

"What's the matter, ickle cousin, scared of the big bad Dementors," cooed the crazed woman who Sirius was ashamed to call his cousin.

See this other dangerous prisoner was a sadistic cold-hearted bitch by the name of Bellatrix Lestrange and she was not all there mentally before Azkaban. Only Merlin knows what kind of mental state she was in then. Bellatrix had been pretty high up in the Death Eater ranks, one of the few privileged to be in Voldemort's inner circle, Bellatrix had been one of the most prominent members along with Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Evan Rosier, Michael Wilcox, and Roderick Sampson. Aurors had killed Sampson, Rosier, and Wilcox in the first war, and they deserved their fates, as they had been especially vicious in their assaults on Muggles and non-supporters of the Dark Lord. Snape and Lucius somehow wormed their way out of prison although Sirius was at a loss how as both were the lowest of the low, the vilest of the vile. They were no better than the sadistic woman across from him.

"I must escape this place and soon or the Dementors will make me like...well like my sadistic cousin," muttered Sirius darkly.

Bellatrix laughed maniacally, her insanity showing through even after many years in Azkaban. She was quite fond the ever-painful Cruciatus Curse. This curse when in the hands of that lunatic had drove countless people to insanity, including Frank and Alice Longbottom.

"Futile dreams my dear cousin, escape is not possible, trust me, if I knew I could find a way, I would try!" cried Bellatrix insanely. "I would like to get my hands on ickle bitty little Harry Potter myself, make him pay for defeating my Master. That wasn't nice what he did! Oh no it was not. He needs to learn how to play nice and let the purest of the pure rule over the Wizarding World. It is what is meant to happen, the Dark Lord ruling over the Wizarding World."

Bellatrix laughed again as Sirius fell back onto the cot in his cell, weakened by the effects of the Dementors. Maybe a transformation into his other form would be in the works soon. Bellatrix did not seem to suffer by the Dementors as she was pure evil when she came in, she was maybe just a bit below Lord Voldemort on the scale of evil.

"Ickle bitty, Potter, the so-called savior of the world, but we'll see how much of a savior he is if I ever meet up with him," cooed Bellatrix in her annoying baby talk voice. "I dreamed a lovely dream last night, about your Godson dear cousin. I had him screaming, begging for mercy and I made him join the Longbottoms at St. Mungos. Wouldn't that be a blast, Sirius? The little Potter driven insane at my hands."

Sirius gritted his teeth weakly. His cousin was just trying to get under his skin and it was working. Bellatrix grinned one of her sadistic grins and started to giggle like a madwoman. Well, scratch like, because she was mad and completely out of her mind. Bellatrix finally managed to sit herself down but insane giggles still erupted out of the woman and she peered out of the cell, with an insane glare in her eyes.

The other prisoners muttered darkly in their cells about something or other as Sirius attempted to vainly shut out of the effects of the Dementors and the insane giggling in the cell across from him. Honestly, it was bad enough he was thrown in Azkaban, but did he have to put up with her for the rest of his life.

The door opened and Sirius groaned as the Minister of Magic decided to make an appearance on this day, no doubt patrolling the grounds. The Minister was flanked by a half a dozen Aurors, who looked they'd rather be anywhere but Azkaban due to the effects of the Dementors.

Fudge looked around, this inspection trip had been long and he only had to inspect this high security prisoner wing. The Daily Prophet was tucked underneath one arm and he held his wand in another. No doubt due to the unbreakable locking charms on the cells, which only could be broken by the strongest dark magic, the prisoners would not be getting out with a wand anytime soon. Still, Fudge was uneasy by one prisoner, as she heckled him every time he made a routine trip to Azkaban.

"Fudgey!" cried Bellatrix. "What brings you to my humble home? No wait, don't tell me, routine inspection trip. Now if only I had a wand, so I can transfigure some flaming toilet paper and throw it at your empty head."

Fudge attempted to ignore Bellatrix who threw her head back and cackled in a slightly creepy way that gave the Minister of Magic the shivers. The Minister decided to ignore the mentally unhinged woman in the cell and focus on the other prisoner across from him.

Sirius saw the picture on the front of the Prophet sticking out from underneath the Minister's arm and he thought Azkaban was finally driving him mad, as he could have swore he thought he saw a very familiar rat on the front of the paper.

"Minister, could I see your paper for a moment please?" said Sirius in a calm tone of voice.

"What?" said the Minister a bit distracted before registered what Black said. "Oh yes, yes of course, I don't see the harm in doing that."

The Minister slipped the paper through the spell.

"Thank you, I really miss doing the crossword," said Sirius weakly before looking at the paper.

Bellatrix saw an opportunity she was not going to pass up. An Auror, no doubt weakened by the effects of the Dementors, was leaning by her cell with the wand sticking out of his pocket. Slowly, Bellatrix removed the wand, stashing it under the thin mattress of her cot. When the time was right, she would use it to escape.

Sirius looked at the front page of the paper. It was that traitor, the rat was missing a toe and he appeared to be a pet of a Hogwarts student. That means, with any news of Voldemort becoming stronger, he was poised to strike, strike the one that defeated the Dark Lord twelve years ago.

"He's at Hogwarts," whispered Sirius. "He's at Hogwarts."

"What's that Black?" asked Fudge sharply.

Sirius went quiet, slumping onto his cot. Fudge shrugged his shoulders.

"Aurors, move out," said Fudge shivering slightly at the effects of the Dementors. "The sooner we leave this horrid place, the better."

The Aurors followed the Minister away from Azkaban as Sirius made plans. Sirius knew exactly what he needed to do and he needed it to do it soon. The prisoner planned to commit the crime that he was put in Azkaban but first he needed a plan of escape.

Later that night, Sirius heard the Dementors open the cell to bring him food. The food was a disgusting slop and Sirius shuddered to think what might be in it. One time, he found something alive crawling in it, but food was food and in this hell he would take whatever he could get. Sirius decided to take his chance right now.

Transforming into his Animagus form, Sirius managed to slip through the bars, past the Dementors. He was heading towards Hogwarts right now. Maybe he would see Harry; no doubt the boy would be a Gryffindor just like James and Lily even through Sirius would have to admit Lily could be cunning enough to be a Slytherin at times. Still, Sirius felt confident in this fact even through he did not know it for sure. News did not travel into Azkaban that well or that often.

Sirius slipped outside the prison, and leaped into the murky waters below, swimming as a dog, not stopping until he would reach land.

Bellatrix's eyes were wide in shock. She did not think the blood traitor had it in him to break out of Azkaban but he just walked out the door as an Animagus. Bellatrix reared back her head and laughed at the trouble the Ministry was going to have but then she grew serious. If her blood traitor cousin could get out, then she could as well. While Bellatrix did not have an Animagus form, she did have a wand she stole from that Auror earlier today.

Reaching underneath the ragged mattress of her cot, with a sadistic grin spreading on her face. Bellatrix raised the wand and did some wordless dark magic. This tactic melted the bars on her cell, allowing her freedom although it took a quite a bit of hard work to accomplish. In fact this process took about twenty minutes but Bellatrix managed to accomplish it by trial and error. Bellatrix stepped out but the Aurors were coming back. Bellatrix cursed at her bad luck.

"Lestrange is escaping!" cried one of the Aurors.

"First Black, than Lestrange, we are not letting this one get out," said a second Auror. "Stupefy!"

Bellatrix lazily deflected the stunner before running towards the nearest exit. The Aurors were blasting spells but none were all too lethal. The Ministry restrictions had handcuffed the Aurors and Bellatrix could fight anything they threw at her.

More Aurors appeared to be blocking the exits and to add to that, the Dementors were coming. Bellatrix gathered up her happiest memory, the night she tortured the Longbottoms into insanity while raising the stolen wand into the air.

"Expecto Patronum!" cried Bellatrix as her Patronus, a gigantic Black Widow spider, erupted out of the wand keep the Dementors at bay.

Bellatrix was surrounded as the Aurors closed in, the odds were against her but she was crazy enough to do something a bit risky. The crazed witch raised her wand into the air before blasting a hole through the wall, making her own exit. Bellatrix leaped from thirty feet into the air, plunging into the murky waters below.

The Aurors, including a twenty-year-old apprentice Auror by the name of Nymphadora Tonks, looked down as Bellatrix Lestrange had escaped from Azkaban.

"I think we she really go after her, instead of standing here, looking stupid," suggested Tonks.

"Tonks, your job is to just observe as you are simply the apprentice," growled the Auror named Dawlish. "I'm leading this mission, and my job is to make the decisions regarding the capture of the prisoners. We're to report back to the Minister, as we will never find Lestrange in all that water. Perhaps she'd have drowned…"

Tonks rolled her eyes behind her superior's back. Being a former member of the Slytherin House, it was tough to break into the Auror ranks because unlike the rest of the Ministry, it was crammed with former Gryffindors. Tonks found this to be true and as she was a former Slytherin, she struggled to make it in a division of the Ministry crammed with former Gryffindors who were notoriously prejudice against anything Slytherin. Only one former member of the Slytherin house made it to the highest Auror rank, Auror Elite, in the last fifty years and that man was the legendary Mad Eye Moody.

Tonks would need to follow her superior's orders exactly if she hoped to be promoted from Apprentice Auror to Junior Auror next spring. It was going to be a long ten months, following that impulsive Gryffindor and hoping not to get herself killed.

Hours later, Bellatrix had reached land. It was late, extremely late, into the morning even. She would rest before she decided to set out to commit some random Muggle killings, to keep the Ministry on their toes. First, however, Bellatrix was hungry and she needed something to eat. She had not had a warm meal since before Azkaban.

Looking around, Bellatrix grinned evilly as she spotted her pray crawling up onto the beach

"Avada Kedavra!" cried Bellatrix wickedly.

The green like struck her pray dead. Bellatrix looked down at the animal with disdain, a sea turtle that crawled onto the beach. Bellatrix despised turtles, as she felt they were slimy, disgusting and the whole lot of them should be put down. This hatred may have came when Sirius put a bunch of the slimy horrors in her bed as a twisted prank when her aunt forced Sirius to come over for a visit to her house when he was younger. Of course, she did not mind eating them, as she felt they tasted good, especially in a soup.

Bellatrix took her pray. Revenge on Harry Potter for defeating her Master and killing random Muggles could wait, right now Bellatrix was going to eat some Breakfast.

At the Ministry of Magic, Fudge had his head in his hands in frustration. Black had escaped and his approval ranting was already going through the toilet as it is due to the fiasco with the Heir of Slytherin. In addition, the Minister had developed an Excedrin headache.

Of course, his morning was going to get even more troubling as an Auror came into his office, looking rather unnerved about something.

"I've been elected to tell you some unfortunate news, Minister," said the Auror nervously.

"Well, what is it, Auror," said Fudge, attempting to keep his cool at all the bad things that had been happening recently.

"Bellatrix Lestrange also managed to escape Azkaban," said the Auror darkly.

Fudge looked up in horror. One was bad enough but Fudge shuddered at the damage both could do when escaped. Fudge put his head into his hands and wept for a moment before regaining his composure.

"Black and Lestrange both escaping in the same day," said Fudge darkly. "This is just not my day."

"What should we do, Minister?" asked the Auror.

"Fetch me some Headache Curing Potion," ordered Fudge. "Oh and tell the Department of the Magical Administration Press to spin this story of Black and Lestrange to the Daily Prophet in a way that does not make me look bad. Find any scapegoat you can, just don't blame me."

The Auror left as Fudge threw a handful of Floo powder into his fireplace.

"Madam Umbridge," called Fudge. About a minute later, the face of a toad like woman appeared in the fire.

"Yes, Minister," said the sickly sweet voice on the other end.

"Call, Dumbledore," said Fudge. "Black muttered something about someone being at Hogwarts and I have no doubt he's after Harry Potter, as he was the one who caused You Know Who's downfall. Also Lestrange may try the same thing, as she has escaped as well. Ask Dumbledore if he is able to meet me, as I need to try and convince him to allow Dementors to patrol Hogwarts to guard the school against the two escaped fugitives."

"I will get on that right away, Minister," replied Umbridge sweetly.

Umbridge vanished from the fire as Fudge wondered how his approval rating would survive this crisis


	3. Chapter 3: Healing

**Chapter Three: Healing**

A few hours after Harry had pulled himself out of his state, the Turtles and Splinter were sitting around the Room of Requirement, wondering what to do next.

"So now what, Master Splinter?" asked Don breaking the uncomfortable silence.

Splinter remained quiet for a moment, before deciding to answer.

"Time will be the only thing to answer our next course of action," said Splinter quietly. "Harry may have pulled himself out of his state but right now, he still needs time to heal his wounds from the battle with the Shredder, both physical and mental."

"In the meantime, I believe we should have something to eat," said Mikey eagerly. "I am up for something pepperoni and in a deep dished crust if I may say so myself. So, as this room seems to give us whatever we require, I say give me pizza and give me out now, oh Room of Magical Giving."

Mikey looked down, but there appeared to be no pizza in front of him.

"I don't think you understand this, I want pizza!" said Mikey frantically but still no pizza appeared.

"That's odd, let me try something," said Don, concentrating on a chocolate cake. Sure enough, the cake appeared in front of him. "Fascinating, this appeared, but yet Mikey's desire for pizza did not."

"Okay, there will be no pizza, but I'm not going to panic," said Mikey trying to keep calm before walking over to the electronics. "I am just going to play some video games to try to keep my mind off of the lack of pizza that exists in this wacky room."

Mikey picked up the controller, preparing to turn it on but as he presses the button, nothing happen end. Pressing the button over and over again, before freaking out.

"Oh my, oh no, the electronics, they don't work," said Mikey in horror. "No video games, no pizzas, no, no no!"

Raph smacked Mikey across the back of the head in an attempt to calm him down

"Relax dipstick, it's not the end of the world," said Raph. "So Don, do you have a theory on the limitations of this room."

"Fascinating, this room only seems to be able to create things known by the Wizarding World," said Don. "For example, they know of electronics but due to the magical energy flowing through the air, there is no way for the electronics to be able to work. The magic would short out and magical people have yet to figure out how to control the electric static impulse of the flux waves created by the magical energy."

"Come again?" said Mikey in confusion, scratching his head.

"The magic shorts out the circuits of electronics, causing it to go haywire and wizards cannot figure out how to correct the problem," said Don, explaining it more simply.

"Ah, I see," said Leo nodding his head. "So anything known by the Magical World in general at this time will appear at the Room of Requirement but nothing not known like electricity working with magical energy in the air and pizza will not."

Mikey shuddered in horror at the thought of a world with no pizza or video games.

"Not knowing about pizza, that is something that I do not want a part of for too long," said Mikey darkly. "Not to mention video games, what should we ever do?"

"We will rest for a few days then we will pick up your training my sons," said Splinter. "Skills are no good when they grow rusty and your ninjitsu training must be kept up to par."

Everyone nodded in agreement but as Harry was out of the woods as far as near death was concerned; they decided to call it a night. The Turtles and Splinter went to the replicas of their bedrooms that had been materialized in the Room of Requirement. The last couple of days had been very eventful with their first glimpse of Hogwarts shortly after the attack by the Shredder and the Foot.

A few weeks went by as the Turtles and Splinter adjusted to their new temporary home. Harry managed to get back on his feet within a few days although he felt rather distant and quiet with everyone, no doubt still feeling the effects of the last battle with the Shredder. The Turtles only saw their brother when he joined them for training and Splinter became very worried about his son, but knew better than to push the issue. Harry would come to his own senses on his own; it would just take a little bit of time. The wise old rat was worried that Harry doubted his own abilities and was unwilling to take risks due to his own self-doubts. The methods he used during his training were extremely subdued but Splinter could sense Harry seemed focused on something else.

Another day had begun, and the Turtles and Splinter were sitting around the makeshift lair of the Room of Requirement. Raphael looked around and noticed Harry was missing once again.

"Is Harry still in his room?" asked Raph.

"Yes, he's in his room, working on something, although I'm not sure what," responded Leo. "He seems to be focused on something, really determined, in a scary manner almost."

"Just give him time, my sons," said Splinter although there was an air of sadness in the rat's voice. "After all, Harry does have summer homework to complete so he could very well be working on that right at the moment."

"Wait, wait, whoa, Homework in the summertime?" asked Mikey incredulously. "First no pizza, and now this. Did I miss the memo that the Wizarding World was ran by insane people?"

"Well, we do have Dumbledore..." said Raph but he did not finish his sentence. Raph did not like Dumbledore at all, period, no two ways about it. If Raph ever met up with Dumbledore, there would be no doubt the hotheaded terrapin would give him a piece of his mind or rather a piece of his Sai.

Leo saw a newspaper lying on the table, titled the _Daily Prophet._

"Let's see what's in the news today, shall we," said Leo, steering the conversation away from dangerous waters. "Even through this is not our world, I believe we should keep up on current events while we are here."

Don nodded, while picking up the newspaper. The turtle only had the paper for about twenty seconds before he gasped in horror before regaining his composure.

"Well you know the saying there's no news that sells papers like bad news," said Donatello grimly. "Even in the Wizarding World that holds no exception."

"What is it, Donatello?" asked Leonardo anxiously.

"Listen to this, _Two High Security Prisoners of Azkaban Escape, Perhaps to Join Forces and Resurrect You-Know-Who_, read Donatello.

"No sorry, I don't know who," said Raph looking puzzled.

"No wait, that is what the majority of the Wizarding World calls Lord Voldemort," said Leo in horror.

"Meep," said Mikey, with a wide-eyed look. "What if, what if he comes back? He will kill a whole bunch of people, torture them until they wet themselves even, Harry told us what happened the last time, how no one could stop him until that Halloween night."

"I hate to ask, but what does the rest of the article say, Donatello?" asked Splinter

Don lifted up the paper, reading it.

**Word finally got out from the Ministry of Magic that a couple of weeks ago, two high security prisoners from Azkaban Prison escaped, Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius Black, writes special Correspondent, Rita Skeeter. Two of the most deadly followers of the Dark Lord somehow eluded the security defenses of the prison. Sources tell this reporter that Black escaped first in the late Afternoon and when Aurors arrived, Lestrange seized her change. One source says that Lestrange stole a wand from one of the Aurors, and managed to fight off an entire squadron of at least a twelve to fifteen Aurors, with the Aurors not offering much resistance. This fact speaks poorly at the current Auror training program at the Ministry of Magic and the Auror division itself. This reporter believes changes should be made and the refusal to eliminate restrictions on what the Aurors can use in combat, has allowed Lestrange to make her escape. The Ministry warns the public that Black, who slaughtered thirteen people with a single curse and is said to be the second in command of You-Know-Who, is slightly unhinged and should be avoided at all costs. Lestrange, whose specialty is the deadly Unforgiven Curse known as the Cruciatus Curse a method she used to incapacitate many unfortunate victims, is given similar warnings by the Ministry. This reporter would also like to add her own warning that Lestrange is a psychotic nutcase and personally if this reporter sees Lestrange, I will be taking the nearest Portkey out of the country at the soonest time of possible. The public is requested to Floo the Department of Magical Law Enforcement if they sight any of these two fugitives. The motive of the escape of these two former Death Eaters, who happen to be related as cousins, is widely believed to be an attempt to resurrect You-Know-Who (the most evil Dark Wizard in a century for those of you who have been living underneath a rock for the last twenty five years). This reporter wonders what Minister Cornelius Fudge is going to do to prevent future prison breaks and believes that this reflects accurately on the quality of work Fudge has brought so far during his reign as Minister of Magic.**

Don finished reading as the other three Turtles and Splinter looked at him, with looks of horror on their faces.

"Here's a picture," said Don, holding up a picture of a female and a male with two gaunt looking shadowed faces. "It says these are the last known pictures of Lestrange and Black, taken nearly a year ago in Azkaban when the Ministry had to replace all their records due to a Doxy infestation."

"What a dandy duo that is!" exclaimed Raph sarcastically. "You know, I do hear the waxy, lifeless look in the face is in this year."

"Yeah, talk about a pair you don't really want to meet in a dark alley," said Mikey. "They have a look on their face that clearly states and I quote adding in Transylvania accent for emphasis at this very moment, "Vell, I am gonna suck your blood."

"Way too many horror movies, Mikey, at such a young age, if I didn't know any better, I would say it warped your mind," remarked Don casually.

Leo looked rather troubled. Two followers of Voldemort out at the same time, something troubling and Leonardo jumped to a grim conclusion.

"So, should we tell Harry about this?" asked Leo. "I mean, these two followed Lord Voldemort and Voldemort tried to kill Harry three times, so maybe they want some sort of twisted measure of revenge. They seem like two individuals that could reek some serious damage and Harry may not be up to fighting either of them."

"Yeah, plus they'll likely have years and years of magical knowledge ahead of Harry," said Don. "Think about it logically, those who would be that high in Voldemort's ranks would know quite the variety of lethal spells. Harry should know to keep him from doing something reckless that puts him in grave danger."

"I dunno, Harry's been through a lot over the past few weeks," said Raph looking rather uncertain at the prospect of telling his younger brother. "That whole mess with the Chamber of Secrets and the last battle with the Foot, don't you think something like this close to the other two horrible events would kind of, you know, push Harry over the edge."

"Raph's right, Harry can get really testy when he gets in one of his moods," said Mikey.

Splinter gave a sigh, the news was definitely rather troubling.

"We will wait a couple of days before informing Harry but I daresay he will learn of it anyway once Hogwarts begins for the year," said Splinter darkly. "From what your brother has told me, news tends to travel fast in this school."

Harry was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, reflecting at all that happened. If only he had not stood their gaping at Shredder like at idiot, if only he leapt up to engage the Shredder in combat, he would have not been battered by the Foot Elite Guard.

Harry felt underneath his right eye, the new scar that was left by the nasty gash he suffered at the hands of the Elite Guard. It appeared to be some crude version of the Foot symbol, turned sideways. Every time Harry looked at his own face, he saw his failure to protect his family from the attack staring back at him. No matter how much he tried to shake the specter of the past, the Shredder's evil laugh haunted his dreams night after night.

Harry vowed from now on to protect his family and his friends at all costs, even if the price for his efforts was his life. Harry was brought of his thoughts by the sounds of an irritated voice.

"Harry James Potter, I'm ordering you to pick up this bloody mirror right now!" said Ginny angrily from the other side of the two-way connection. "Don't make me track you down and hex you into oblivion!"

Harry reached over wordlessly, picking up the mirror. He had been avoiding his friends for the last few weeks after the Shredder, every time a call came in on his mirror, he ignored them. It seemed now Ginny had lost her patience and was going to call him out on it.

"Hello, Ginny," said Harry weakly.

"Harry, what is the matter with you?" asked Ginny. "Ever since Hogwarts ended, I have been trying to get in touch with you but you haven't answered. I thought you said you would talk to me at anytime. I talked to Hermione, Theodore, and Daphne as well on the mirrors and they said you have been avoiding them as well. So, tell me, Harry, what happened?"

Harry winced, feeling guilty at upsetting his friends, but for some reason Harry could not figure out, he felt his most horrible for upsetting Ginny.

"It's...well it's complicated," said Harry lamely, saying pretty much the most he had said in weeks.

Ginny frowned, something bad had happened and Harry was not spilling the beans. As she looked at Harry's face closely through the connection through the mirror, she noticed a very troubling addition underneath Harry's right eye.

"Harry, what happened to your face?" demanded Ginny looking horrified, noticing the new scar underneath Harry's eye for the first time.

"I just got a small cut, Ginny, nothing more," said Harry weakly. "I fell...face first on some glass, that's it."

"Harry, I'm not a Healer but I know for a fact that was no small cut, not the way it scarred anyway and I can tell by your voice you didn't just fall on glass," said Ginny. "Please, tell me what happened Harry? I'm just concerned as your friend, I don't mean to pry in your personal life or anything."

Harry hated lying to Ginny, she was very honest with him when she talked about the diary in the weeks after she was possessed and Harry felt he had to tell the truth, even if it was a portion of it.

"I was ambushed by a dark and sinister force," said Harry as Ginny looked horrified. "It was a Muggle crime organization that me and my family had the misfortunate of stumbling upon my operation. We managed to escape barely."

Harry neglected to tell his friend that he came close to dying but he did not want to worry Ginny any more than he had to.

"Harry, I'm sorry," whispered Ginny softly. "I didn't know I was bringing something up that troubled you."

"Ginny, you didn't know," said Harry. "Look, I really don't want to talk about it. How have you been holding up after what happened with you last year?"

"I'm starting to get back to normal, I still feel guilty about it," said Ginny although she seemed to be a little shaky at what she was saying. Harry wondered if he was the only one who was telling just a portion of the truth.

"It's not your fault, Ginny," said Harry. "I just wish I was able to save you before you got taken down into the Chamber or better yet, was able to find a way to destroy that diary when I had it in my possession."

"Harry, you couldn't have known what would happen, I think you believe that anything bad that has ever happened is your fault," said Ginny with a frown. "You didn't possess me, it was Tom. Harry, you're only human like everyone else, you can't expect to stop everything right away. You have your limitations just like everyone else."

"Since when did you get so wise, Ginny?" asked Harry in awe.

"I am just repeating the advice you gave to me Harry after the Chamber with a bit of my own input, nothing more," said Ginny. "Basically, I only know what you told me, I think you would do well by following your own advice."

"That's the thing, the Wizarding public seems to expect me to leap in and fix its mistakes," said Harry. "With both the Philosopher's Stone and the Chamber of Secrets, while everyone else was sitting on their thumbs doing nothing, I had to jump in and stop the evil that was plotted from occurring. I just have a feeling next time I am forced into action due the incompetence of those in power in the government or at this school, I might not be coming back alive."

"It won't come to that, Harry," said Ginny. "You'll survive every time, I have faith you will."

"Thank you Ginny but I can't just shake the fact that something will happen if I keep playing the savior," said Harry. "I wonder if the Wizarding World in general, not my friends, cares about me personally, whether I live or not. What do they see me as?"

"I don't know about them, but I see you as Harry and that is all that matters to me," said Ginny. "I'm sure the others feel the same way."

"You're right Ginny," said Harry. "So let's get to more happy matters. How have you been, other than the obvious ramifications of the incident that happened last year?"

"I've been great Harry, in fact, we are on holiday right now, visiting Bill in Egypt" said Ginny excitedly. "Dad won the Daily Prophet drawing and we finally had enough money to make this trip."

"Egypt, that sounds exciting, I remember reading about the tombs there a while back, they were supposed to be cursed to keep Muggles from stealing their treasures," said Harry with interest, looking happier then he had been in weeks.

"Yes too bad Mum won't let me go in them at all, she seems to think I'm too mentally fragile," said Ginny with a bit of irritation. "That's why I tried to call you because I was bored staying at the hotel while the others get to have fun by exploring the tombs."

"Ginny, don't try and dwell on it too much, your mother may attempt to protect you in this fanatical manner for a while," said Harry reassuringly. "She had to be terrified once that fiend took you down in the Chamber of Secrets."

"Yes, Harry, I suppose you're right, it's just irritating me," said Ginny. "It's like I'm five sometimes but at least Ron isn't being a prat anymore. He actually asked me if I was talking to you the other day and told me to thank you for saving me from the Chamber."

"Nice to know I am not Voldy Junior anymore," said Harry.

"Voldy!" yelled Ginny incredulously. "Where in the blazes did you come up with that one?"

"A little nickname I came up for Voldemort to lessen any fear I might have for him," said Harry shrugging his shoulders. "After all, he is nothing but shadow and vapor right now, so I can't fear the past even if it is at times a reflection into the future/."

"Okay Harry, that's just a bit too deep for me," said Ginny shaking her head in amusement. "Just for your own health, do not call him that to his face if you should ever meet him again."

"I'll try not to, I should be do to meet him or some version of him by the end of the year if he remains on schedule," said Harry. "Happened the last two years, so I don't see why it shouldn't happen this year."

Ginny shuddered at the very thought.

"Let's hope he decided to take the year off, heck, he can take the next several years off until say, the rest of time," said Ginny before pausing as if to listen for something in the background. "Listen, Harry, as much as I'd like to do this for the rest of the Afternoon and through the night, Mum's calling for me, we are supposed to go to Dinner right now as the boys are back from the tombs."

"Thank you, Ginny, talking to you helped ease my mind," said Harry with a smile. "I'll call the others, let them know I did not drop off the face of the earth. Bye Ginny."

"Bye Harry," said Ginny as her face vanished from the mirror. Harry felt a small twinge of sadness to see her go.

Harry looked up with a smirk, lost in his thoughts, thinking about Ginny for a few more minutes before shaking his head, clearing it of all thought. He needed to talk to the others.

A couple hours later, the Turtles and Splinter were sitting around, eating dinner when Harry arrived outside of his room. The Turtles and Splinter looked up. To their pleasant surprise, Harry looked rather cheerful.

"Good evening, everyone," said Harry brightly as if the last few weeks never happened.

"Hey Harry," said Leo.

"Nice to see you ain't moody anymore bro," said Mikey.

"I have had some time to think of some things that had been happening and talked it over with someone, realizing how much of an idiot I have been," said Harry.

"Betcha five bucks he talked to Ginny and she gave him an earful about him ignoring everyone. Honestly he is so whipped and he probably won't realize it for a couple of years," said Don in an undertone to Raph so Harry could not hear what he said. Raph grinned but did not respond.

"Ah, it is excellent to see that I have my son back," said Splinter brightly. "Do join us for some dinner, Harry."

Harry sat down to join his family as the world looked a lot brighter than it did a few hours ago.


	4. Chapter 4: Demented

**Chapter 04: Demented**

Much time had passed, as currently Hogwarts was set to begin in just a few days, so Harry needed to make a trip to Diagon Alley to purchase some school supplies.

"While, I am gone, I would suggest you do not wander away from the Room of Requirement," said Harry in a stern tone of voice. "If Dumbledore saw you were here or anyone else for that matter, who knows what horrors could happen."

"Harry, don't worry, we won't leave the Room of Requirement," assured Leo.

"Yeah, we heard ya the first, dozen times when you told us, we ain't deaf," added Raph irritably.

Harry just nodded before Splinter, leaning on his walking stick, walked over to Harry with an anxious look on his face.

"Be careful my son," said Splinter anxiously. "You do know of the elements that escaped from the prison Azkaban."

Harry's eyes narrowed slightly. His family had informed him about Lestrange and Black escaping from Azkaban and about their connection to Voldemort as his two most deadly Death Eaters. The Ministry of Magic apparently was searching but Harry felt their efforts might not pay off for quite some time. Also, word leaked to the Daily Prophet that a bunch of Muggles had been found in their homes, driven to insanity by the Cruciatus Curse.

"I'll be careful, Master Splinter," said Harry. "I'll be back in when Hogwarts starts as I have to catch the Hogwarts Express with everyone else to make it look like nothing happened."

Harry's family nodded, waving at him. The Boy-Who-Lived pulled out his wand, tapping it to the Portus-Amulet. The familiar jerking sensation was felt, pulling Harry towards Diagon Alley.

Meanwhile in his office, Dumbledore was scheming. The escape of both Lestrange and Black troubled the Headmaster greatly and had cut his summer vacation short. If the truth about Sirius got out to Harry, Dumbledore's plans would be extremely compromised. The Headmaster knew Black was innocent of his crimes and he knew of the switch of Secret Keepers just a couple days before that fateful Halloween Night. In fact, Dumbledore arranged for Black to have a change of heart and change to Pettigrew by way of some Suggestive Potion slipped into Black's tea a few days before that night. The only thing that perplexed Dumbledore is how exactly Black managed to escape from Azkaban as Dumbledore suggested to the Minister to keep twice as many Dementors around his cell than all the other prisoners put together.

Dumbledore watched Pettigrew closely throughout Peter's seven years at Hogwarts. Albus saw a highly ambitious student who would do anything for a bit of power. He was loyal to his friends up until a point when he became jealous and insecure at their various successes. Dumbledore had a soft spot in his dark heart for Pettigrew as Peter reminded Albus of a younger version of himself. The boy was able to hide his dark nature from the world, making it look like another did the deed he committed.

The other prisoner also proved a problem for Dumbledore, as she was a wildcard in Dumbledore's master chess game. Bellatrix never did play by the rules of anyone, she barely listened to the Dark Lord at times, going out and creating her own special brand of mayhem, leaving countless people insane due to her specialty, the Cruciatus Curse. Yet, Dumbledore made plans to manipulative Bellatrix into doing some of his dirty work as he may have a use for Bellatrix yet.

All the thoughts of the past caused Dumbledore to think about the new teacher this year. The werewolf was a little too trusting of Dumbledore and for good reason as Albus allowed him to come to Hogwarts when no other Headmaster could. Plus, Dumbledore needed some werewolf blood for the rituals had planned to aid him in the assault of the Wizarding World so Dumbledore did not get burned by the ramifications of the prophecy made thousands of years ago.

It had been a hundred and forty years for Dumbledore to be in this present form but soon Dumbledore would regain the power he had during his past life during the time of the founders. His name would be feared throughout the land and he would gain his ultimate vengeance by wiping out the last member of the Slytherin line by way of Harry Potter. Dumbledore would laugh last and the loudest.

Harry dropped out, cursing at the Portus-Amulet not working as well as it could. First he when he attempted to get his family out of the building where the Shredder attacked, he was aiming for the Slytherin Library but ended up in the Dungeons of Hogwarts. Then he missed his target and ended up in Knockturn Alley yet again. He wondered if Riddle's evil had sometimes corrupted the Amulet temporarily, causing it not to work as it should.

In a flash, Harry sensed something whizzing towards him. Throwing himself on the ground, he saw a jet of pure black light strike the side of the building he was in front of. Harry recognized the light to be an organ-exploding hex. Insane laughter was heard and Harry looked up, staring into the face of one of the Azkaban escapees, Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Ickle bitty boy, you should know not to wander down Knockturn Alley alone, you might get in big trouble," cooed Bellatrix in a baby voice that made Harry want to break her jaw because it was so annoying.

Harry just stared up at her, cursing his bad luck. He could not even go shopping anymore without an attempt on his life. If anyone thought it was all fun and games to be Harry Potter, they should be slapped across the face for their stupidity! She broke out into a fit of insane giggles. Harry wondered if she was all there mentally as by her behavior Lestrange appeared to have a few screws loose upstairs.

"I may have missed the first time, poor unfortunate victim, but I won't miss the second time," said Bellatrix wickedly before raising her wand and screaming out a spell. "Putesco Viscus."

A jet of jagged gray light flew towards Harry, the flesh rotting curse was a favorite of Death Eaters back during Voldemort's first reign of terror, as it required less power than the Cruciatus and offered just as much amount of pain. Screw the underage restrictions. Harry needed to fight back.

"Protego," muttered Harry. The curse struck Harry's shield, shattering it but stopping it, if not barely.

"Oh this little boy knows how to play," said Bellatrix. "Oh yes he does, let's see now..."

"Stupefy!" cried Harry but Bellatrix lazily reflected the curse.

"Nice try for a little brat, but let's try again shall we with some better," said Bellatrix before raising her wand. "Punctum!"

A dozen razor sharp needles flew through the air towards Harry. Harry rolled out of the way expertly, causing the needles to impale the wall behind him.

"So you want to turn up the heat, do you psychopath," said Harry with venom. "Try this on for size. Incendio!"

A jet of fire shot out of Harry's wand, striking Bellatrix in the arm, causing her arm to get burned. The sadistic woman screeched in horror, doing more harm to Harry's ears with her voice as she did.

"All right, no more nice dark witch, now we play rough you little bastard," said Bellatrix dropping her baby voice. "Crucio."

The Cruciatus Curse struck Harry and he attempted to fight the pain. He remembered reading the curse only tricked the mind into the pain was real, but Harry gave well, screaming in horror before dropping to his knees. A sadistic smirk spread over Bellatrix's face but Harry was not done yet. Harry managed to summon some strength to kick some mud into his attackers face, distracting her from the attack.

Bellatrix appeared to be blinded and Harry raised his wand, seizing his chance. He might get a nice reward from the Ministry for bringing this criminal in.

"Petrificus Totalus," said Harry but Bellatrix put up a shield charm.

"No more games," said Bellatrix in a dangerous voice. "I hate using this curse, but if you insist. I'll have to do it."

Bellatrix raised her wand as Harry braced himself for some obscure Dark Arts spell.

"Rictusempra!" cried Bellatrix, blasting Harry with the tickling charm. Harry did not expect that and was doubled over, laughing out loud. Bellatrix broke into another round of insane giggles before growing serious. "Until we meet again."

Bellatrix disappeared with a pop, as Harry felt confused. She could have beaten him after incapacitating him with the tickling charm maybe shot a killing curse at him but she just left. This fact reaffirmed Harry's belief Bellatrix Lestrange was not playing with a full deck.

Harry wondered if Lestrange knew exactly whom she was attacking. The thirteen year old guessed she did not but no doubt she would attempt to impale his body before roasting it over a grill if she knew he was the one who defeated Voldemort twelve years ago. Harry shuddered, if he came across Bellatrix Lestrange again, it will be all too soon.

Harry did his shopping rather quickly, including books for his new classes Arithmancy and Study of Ancient Runes. In a stroke of luck, Hagrid had already sent _The Monster Book of Monsters_, the course book for his other new class Care of Magical Creatures, for his birthday. Harry thought Hagrid acquired a new pet and wanted his assistance. It would be a long time before Harry forgot about Norbert. Not to mention Fluffy and last, but certainly not least, Aragog. Hagrid did have a unique taste in what he called interesting animals.

The day before Hogwarts had came, and Harry was exploring Diagon Alley when he heard a very familiar voice.

"Harry, Harry!" called a pair of voices.

Harry turned around and saw two of his friends, Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger waving frantically at him. They were standing by Flourish and Blotts and when Harry turned to them, they smiled at him.

Harry decided to join his new friends.

"Hi, Hermione, Ginny, you two have a great summer?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, it was pretty good, if you like sitting in a hotel room for half the day while my brothers have all the fun," said Ginny bitterly while hugging Harry. "I would have liked to see those tombs, they sounded rather interesting."

Harry just nodded his head, they did sound interesting. All he read about wizards growing extra heads should make excellent dinner conversation if he saw something like that. Harry let go of Ginny, before turning to Hermione who nearly squeezed the life out of him with a hug, not nearly as nice as the one Ginny gave it he would care to admit it.

"Hermione...can't breath," said Harry wearily as Hermione let him go. "Voldemort wouldn't be happy if you killed me, really."

"Wow, Harry, you really know how to put a damper on a conversation," said Ginny but she had a small smile on her face.

"So, Hermione, how was your summer?" asked Harry.

"Great, Harry, France is excellent, all the information they had about Wizarding culture, I had to include it in my History of Magic Essay, it was two rolls more of parchment then Professor Binns requested," said Hermione excitedly.

Harry nodded his head, he may be the second best in his year but he did not take the fanatical approach to his homework that the best in his year talking to him down. Perhaps that could have been the reason why Harry was the second best in the year.

"So what have you been doing lately, Harry?" asked Ginny.

"Well, it seems like I have the worst luck in the world, as I ran afoul of one of the Azkaban escapees," said Harry darkly. "Bellatrix Lestrange decided to attack me when I arrived here."

"Harry, she's like..." started Hermione before Ginny decided to help her.

"A crazed woman with a few, no make that several, screws loose," supplied Ginny helpfully. "So, how did you survive, Harry?"

"We dueled," said Harry as Hermione and Ginny both gasped. "She threw a few nasty Dark Arts spells at me, I attempted to burn her arm off, you know the usual routine. Then she hit me with a tickling charm and then went. I don't think she knew it was me."

"Thank Merlin for that," said Ginny in relief.

"Exactly Harry, if she knew who you were, I bet you would not have lived to tell the tale," said Hermione. "Anyway, I wonder where her partner in climb was, Sirius Black? He is said to be just as bad as Lestrange. Harry, please be careful."

"Okay, I'll just shut myself in my room again like I did at the beginning of the summer and pretend no one else exists," said Harry although he was not being serious.

"Not that again Harry, once was bad enough," remarked Ginny with a shudder. "C'mon, Mum and Dad want me back at the Leaky Cauldron. I invited Hermione to stay with us and I suppose you're staying there to as you have already been there for a few days."

The three friends walked to the Leaky Cauldron where they met a very sulky looking Ron Weasley.

"Hermione, I would like to have a word with you, now," said Ron.

"I told you before, Ronald, Crookshanks does not know it is wrong, all cats chase rats," replied Hermione calmly.

"Crookshanks?" asked Harry to Ginny in a low tone of voice.

"Hermione's new cat, it seems to be on a mission to eat Scabbers, which before you ask, is Ron's rat," said Ginny.

"Keep that monster away from Scabbers, Hermione," retorted Ron angrily.

"You better learn how to keep an eye on your pet then, Ronald," responded Hermione irritably.

Ron stomped off, muttering about "psychotic cats".

"Maybe you should make your cat leave the rat alone Hermione," suggested Harry.

"You're only saying that because your Master Splinter is a rat," muttered Hermione irritably before clasping her hand over mouth when remembering Ginny, who still didn't know about Harry's family, was standing there.

"Come again?" asked Ginny looking confused.

"Nice going, Hermione," said Harry sarcastically.

"Harry, is there something you're not telling me about your family?" asked Ginny, her brown eyes glinting in irritation.

"Ginny, I..." started Harry lamely.

"Harry don't you..." said Ginny

"Ginny, please...," interrupted Harry.

"Harry...," interrupted Ginny as Hermione looked from one side to the other, as if she was watching a ping pong game.

"Ginny...," said Harry, cutting her off.

"Fred," said a new voice.

"George," said a second voice. "Now that we all know each other, nice to see you again Harry."

Harry turned around to see the Twins smiling at him.

"Yeah, spiffing to meet your acquaintance once again," said George.

"Positively corking to gaze upon you, Harry," said Fred.

"Okay you two, that's enough," said Mrs. Weasley who had just walked in joined by Percy who had an even new, even more shiny badge on him. "Ginny, there you are, you know not be wandering off."

Ginny rolled her eyes and mouthed her mother's words in irritation.

"I saw that young lady!" snapped Mrs. Weasley before turning to Harry. "I'm sure Ginny told you the good news about Percy."

"Slipped my mind, actually," said Ginny in a low voice.

"Second Head Boy in the family," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes, and the last," said George in a low tone of voice as Harry politely shook Percy's hand on his achievement, despite not exchanging more than a dozen words with the pompous older Weasley boy in the past. For some reason, Harry had the sudden urge to count his fingers afterwards to make sure they were all there, as he did not trust prefects and trusted Head Boys even less.

"Well I don't doubt that as I don't see anyone making you two prefects," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Who would want to be a prefect? Rather boring job if you are actually think about it," said Fred.

"Yeah, takes all the fun out of life, that does," said George.

Harry and Ginny gave each other a look before exchanging nods in agreement when Mrs. Weasley went over to reprimand Fred and George. Harry felt if he would ever become a prefect, he would jump out of the highest tower possible head first before ever degrading himself to a position of authority. Ginny turned to Harry.

"Harry, what was Hermione talking about anyway?" whispered Ginny.

"I'll tell you later, Ginny but my family they can be a bit unique so if I introduce you, be warned," said Harry.

"They can't be anymore unique than Fred and George," remarked Ginny dismissively.

The next day, Harry found himself boarding the Hogwarts Express along with Hermione and Ginny. Thankfully, this year there was no incident like the barrier sealing. Harry, Ginny, and Hermione met up with their other two friends, Theodore Nott and Daphne Greengrass on the train before setting off to find a compartment. The only one free seemed to have sleeping older man with gray hair.

"R.J. Lupin," read Theodore from the briefcase by the man's side. "It appears to me we may have met our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher."

"I hope he is better than the last two," said Daphne. "We had the stuttering twit possessed by You-Know-Who and then we had Lockhart."

"No one can be worse than Lockhart," said Ginny. "Not even a rock enchanted to teach could be worse than Lockhart."

"What happened to Professor Lockhart anyway?" asked Hermione. "Harry just said he had to leave due to unforeseen circumstances."

Harry did not tell Hermione the full story of what happened to Lockhart.

"Harry, you're the expert on this matter, you tell her," said Theodore.

"More or less, after the Chamber of Secrets Lockhart attacked me and Ginny," said Harry. "He attempted to wipe our memories clean so he could take all the fame and glory for himself, but some kind of weird energy shield surrounded us, causing the spell to bounce off."

Hermione looked horrified at Lockhart attacking two of her friends.

"To think I ever stuck up for that...that...lowlife," said Hermione angrily. "So where is he now?"

"He is in the long term ward of St. Mungos, as he may be unable to regain his memories," said Harry. "Or that's at least what Professor Snape told me."

"Good," said Hermione savagely.

"Hermione, you sounded almost like...Harry right there," said Theodore looking a bit unnerved by Hermione's attitude on Lockhart.

"Just what we need, another Harry, no offense," said Daphne quickly to Harry who raised his eyebrows. "It's just one of you is more than enough, especially with your lovely mood swing earlier in the summer."

"Yeah, that was a pain," agreed Ginny.

"Come on Ginny, back off, I said I was sorry," said Harry.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with the five sitting around and talking. Daphne and Theodore looked rather impressed Harry held his own with the legendary Bellatrix Lestrange but even they agreed that she was even more mentally unhinged then ever after Azkaban.

Professor Lupin slept on through most of the ride and Harry decided he was going to reserve judgment on Lupin until he decided how he taught the classes.

Late in the Afternoon, the Hogwarts Express suddenly grinded to a screeching halt.

"We can't be there already," said Theodore.

"Yeah, I agree with you for once, Theodore," said Daphne. "Something is stopping the train for some reason."

Harry pulled his wand out, looking alert.

"Wands out everyone," said Harry. "For all we know it could be Lestrange or Black or maybe both. We must be ready for anything."

Suddenly, the temperature in the compartment seemed to drop below freezing. Harry looked around, his mind clouding and he saw a horrific sight. About six cloaked figures, with lifeless scaly hands glided into the department. They turned to Harry and Harry dropped to his knees, shaking like mad.

"Harry!" screamed Ginny before her own eyes rolled into the back of her head.

Ginny remembered the day Tom took her into the Chamber, the day he told her his future self's identity. Every bad thought she suffered on that day was brought back up, as she felt foolish for trusting a past self of You-Know-Who. Ginny curled up in a ball, shaking like bad, praying for the memories to stop as she felt like she wanted to die at any minute.

Harry's face looked lifeless, as his eyes flashed with reflections of the past. Whatever these things were, they seemed to be focusing on him, feeding on his bad memories.

_The Foot Elite Guard beating him up on the roof, attacking him, kicking him. Harry failing...failing his family. _

_A cold high laugh and a jet of green light flying through the air, before a woman's scream is heard. _

_"Like the Phoenix, I have risen from the ashes, and into my fire you shall fall." _

_Ginny's body lying motionless in the Chamber of Secrets, as Harry fought for his life against the Basilisk and Riddle. _

As this was happening, Remus rose to his feet, attempting to block the own tormenting memories from his mind. Especially the two-day period where all of his friends were murdered or he learned they had fallen from the dark side. Also, memories of getting turned by Fenrir Greyback taunted Remus but Remus saw the agony Harry was going through. He owed it to both Lily and James; he needed to act now, forgetting about his own horrific memories.

"Leave now, none of us are hiding Sirius Black underneath our robes," said Remus in a commanding voice.

The Dementors gave a rattling breath that sounded like some crude version of laughter. They were taunting Remus.

"Expecto Patronum," chanted Remus as his Patronus backed off the Dementors. It took every ounce of energy he could to back them off, even more impressive as the full moon was only a few days ago.

They were gone for right now as Remus sank down for a few seconds before pulling out chocolate from his briefcase. No down the students in the compartment would need it right now.

Ginny, Theodore, Hermione, and Daphne were up, but shaky but Harry still sat in a trance, unable to move. They looked at their friend horrified, as the effects of the Dementors had apparently put Harry into shock.


	5. Chapter 5: Malfoy's Blunder

**Chapter 05: Malfoy's Blunder**

Daphne, Theodore, Hermione, and Ginny looked at Harry in horror. Harry's eyes were glazed over, with a blank expression on his face. The Dementors had left the compartment due to Professor Lupin's efforts, but Harry still seemed to feel the effects of them.

Ginny was too busy shaking off the effects of the vague memories she had of her year under Tom's possession to help Harry. Thankfully Hermione was never one to lose her head in a crisis, as she decided to attempt to snap Harry out of his current state.

"Harry, Harry talk to me if you can hear me," said Hermione frantically but her friend did not respond.

"I don't understand, those things were horrible, but none of us were affected that badly," said Theodore.

Ginny looked at Harry in horror. She was brought out of her thoughts by a snapping sound. Ginny spun around but it was only Lupin breaking a slab of chocolate into pieces. Lupin handed the chocolate around.

"Here, chocolate helps counteract the effects of these creatures," said Lupin.

Harry came to his senses out of his trance when Lupin said the word "chocolate".

"Chocolate," said Harry numbly.

Ginny felt relief as Harry had came out of whatever happened to him. Harry reached forward, as Lupin handed him a piece of chocolate. Harry ate it right away.

"Much better," said Harry calmly although he could not shake off the fact that whatever those things were had caused him weakness. "What were those things anyway?"

"They're called Dementors, they guard the Wizarding Prison Azkaban," explained Lupin. "They were looking for Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry. Now if you excuse me, I need to go up and speak to the driver."

Lupin walked off as Harry wondered how he knew his name. Then again, a lot of people Harry never met knew his name. After all, he was Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, and a few people have heard of him.

"Those Dementors were quite horrid, weren't they?" said Hermione in a calm voice breaking the silence.

"Yeah, freezing up your insides, making you feel like you were never going to be happy again," said Daphne with a shudder.

Harry remained quiet. He believed the only reason he did not faint from the horrors those creatures brought forth to his mind is his mental abilities. They managed to block out part of the powers of the Dementors, but Harry's mental focus was not strong to break the complete blast of their power.

Looking over to Ginny, Harry saw she looked about as bad as he felt. He wondered if the Dementors dragged up some repressed memories from the ordeal with the Chamber of Secrets last year. Harry decided to wait for a couple of days, before asking Ginny about what happened with the Dementors. Everyone remained quiet for duration of the rest of the ride to Hogwarts.

The Dementors were angered beyond all belief. They sensed the mortal youth's connection with Slytherin, the foul mortal that trapped them in this infernal form. The werewolf stopped them from sucking the soul from the boy and making it look like an accident. The charm the werewolf used to repel them had been a diluted version of the spell that played in part in causing the Dementors to be enchanted in their current form and tied to that infernal relic that the Ministry of Magic used to make them serve them. The Dementors wanted to be free, to swipe as many souls as possible but as they had been degraded by the Ministry of Magic. As the Ministry possessed the artifact, the Ministry could force the Dementors to do their bidding.

They wondered what had become of their fallen leader, the head Demon Lord of the Realm of Darkness. A thousand years ago, Slytherin defeated their leader and trapped his essence within a temple just when he also created that foul Eye of Darkness crystal to keep the Dementors from breaking free into their true forms. Still, the foolish human did not know exactly what he did, as the creatures kept breeding due to their forms not being able to sustain the emotion they had sucked in causing their numbers to multiply. If the Eye of Darkness crystal were to ever be destroyed, many more types of their kind will exist than a thousand years ago, and this time, they would accomplish their goals of domination of this infernal realm.

Later that evening, everyone arrived at the school. Daphne, Theodore, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry walked up to the school where they saw Professor McGonagall looking around for. After about a minute her eyes rested on Harry and Hermione.

"Granger, Potter, I would like to have a quick word with you in my office," said McGonagall, calling both of them over.

"What did we do now?" whispered Harry to Hermione in a low voice.

Hermione looked as if she knew but she did not say anything. Ginny, Theodore, and Daphne looked at Harry and Hermione with a bit of a worried look.

"It's nothing to worry about you three," said McGonagall. "Just a quick word in my office. Weasley, Greengrass, Nott, you three move along now."

As usual, McGonagall's tone of voice left no room for argument. Harry and Hermione followed McGonagall up to her office.

"Potter, normally Professor Snape would take care of this matter as he is your head of house, but he is currently brewing a very complex potion that requires his full attention," said McGonagall. "So, I have decided to step in and ask you about something that happened on the train."

"What, Professor?" asked Harry.

"Potter, you are the student with the second highest grades in your year, so I know for a fact you aren't stupid," said McGonagall, eyes narrowing. "Professor Lupin has come to me, saying you went into shock for a few moments on the train due to the effects of the Dementors."

"It's nothing, Professor," said Harry.

"Potter, going into shock, even for a short time is a very serious matter!" snapped McGonagall. "Now, are you all right?"

"Yes, I am," said Harry with a bit of irritation in his voice.

Just then Madam Pomfrey came bursting into McGonagall's office.

"I heard about a student going into shock on the train and you took him to your office, Minerva," said Pomfrey before spotting Harry. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see that student is you, Potter. What have you been doing this time?"

"It was a Dementor, Poppy," said McGonagall darkly.

"Yes, he won't be the first one to collapse, dreadful things those Dementors are, especially on people who are already fragile," said Pomfrey.

"I am not fragile!" snapped Harry but no one listened to him.

"What do you recommend Poppy?" asked McGonagall. "A stay in the hospital wing."

"Damn it, I said I was fine," said Harry.

"Five points from Slytherin for your colorful dialogue Potter," said McGonagall in a calm tone of voice.

"At the very least, he should have some chocolate," said Pomfrey.

"Professor Lupin gave everyone in that compartment some," said Harry quickly.

"It's about time, we have a Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher who knows his remedies," said Pomfrey.

"Had to happen sooner or later, a competent teacher get hired by accident through after the last two years, I was giving up hope," said Harry.

"Potter, show respect for your former Professors," said McGonagall. "While he did have the minor drawback of You-Know-Who possessing him and that fake stutter, Professor Quirrell did have a decent understanding of his materials. Professor Lockhart...okay, Potter, you win on that one."

Harry just sat there, wondering if anyone had ever won an argument with McGonagall before. After a moment, he spoke up.

"May I go please?" asked Harry in an agitated voice.

"If you are feeling well Potter, then yes you may wait outside while Miss Granger and I discuss her unique course schedule for the year," said McGonagall, dismissing him with a wave of his hand.

Harry stepped outside, waiting for a few minutes. Hermione walked out of McGonagall's office, looking pleased about something. McGonagall followed and the three walked down to the feast.

Harry joined Daphne, Theodore, and Ginny at the Slytherin Table when a reluctant Hermione sat herself down at the Gryffindor Table. It seemed like McGonagall requested for Hermione to join her Gryffindor housemates, to promote house unity. Of course, Harry felt the house system was the furthest thing from promoting unity period. All it promoted was unrest, as the slander Harry suffered last year proved.

After the Feast, Dumbledore rose to his feet. Harry attempted to keep his expression neutral as he looked at the old man, but he found himself biting his tongue, preventing himself from saying a few scathing words to the Headmaster.

"May I have your attention please?" asked Dumbledore rhetorically before speaking. "On this night, I would like to announce two new staff appointments. The first of which, is the ever popular Defense Against the Dark Arts position. Professor Remus Lupin has consented to fill the position left by the unfortunate departure of Professor Lockhart last year."

Ginny and Harry exchanged dark looks, as they both knew Lockhart's departure was not all that unfortunate. A round of light, polite applause was heard, loudest of all from the five that had been in the compartment with Professor Lupin.

"Thank you, I am sure Professor Lupin should do a job fitting of his talents," said Dumbledore. "Now the second appointment I would like to announce is that of the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Last year, Professor Kettleburn retired to spend more time with his remaining limbs, so without further ado, allow me to introduce the new Care of Magical Creatures Teachers, Rubeus Hagrid."

A louder applause than Lupin breaks out as Hagrid looks on, beaming at the students of Hogwarts.

"Should have known, who else would have assigned a biting book," said Daphne, referring to the _Monster Book of Monsters_, the course book for Care of Magical Creatures. The book seemed to have a tendency to bite any who touched it.

"Yes, that does fit Hagrid's style," agreed Theodore.

Harry just nodded, clapping along with the rest. With his defeat of the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, Harry cleared Hagrid's name of any wrong doing last year. That memory of course brought Harry's thoughts around to Lord Voldemort. Harry hoped he would never see Voldemort ever again, as the last two meetings with Voldemort nearly caused Harry's life to be short lived.

"Now, I must address a very grave matter," said Dumbledore grimly. "Hogwarts is to play host this year to some guests from the Wizarding prison Azkaban. As you may have heard, Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius Black escaped over the summer. As a result, a few dozen Dementors on loan from Azkaban will ensure they cannot bring harm to anyone in the school. I must stress the fact that you will not run afoul of these creatures. Your time will be short lived if you attempt to fool a Dementor. They have no mercy for anyone or anything; all they thrive of is draining the emotion from others. I assure you that as long as you are within these walls, you will be quite safe."

Harry was not going to touch that last statement with a fifty-foot pole; the last two years had been proof against Dumbledore's words. For being called the safest place in the world, Hogwarts, the last two years had not only put Harry in danger, but his friends and countless innocent students with two different forms of Lord Voldemort running unchecked in the school. Also, when Dumbledore mentioned Lestrange's name, Harry could have sworn he saw a brief look of hatred flash across Neville Longbottom's face that was completely uncharacteristic of the usually calm, quiet boy. Harry wondered what that was all about but decided to not think about it anymore. It was probably nothing that concerned him anyway.

Similar thoughts were running through Ginny's mind and she had to fight with every bit of her patience to not scream and rant at Dumbledore for blatantly lying. She saw Harry giving her a warning look and shook his head at her.

The next day, during Breakfast, the new course schedules were passed out. Harry looked at his.

"Excellent, it appears we will be starting some new subjects today," said Harry.

"Delightful," said Daphne sarcastically before looking at her own course schedule. "Study of Ancient Runes is first period for third year Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and miscellaneous."

"Miscellaneous, what could that possibly be?" asked Theodore.

"Me," said Hermione who had just joined her friends at the table. "I seem to be the only Gryffindor taking that course as the rest are taking the bare minimum of two classes."

The three looked at Hermione's schedule but unless Harry's eyes were deceiving him, he appeared to be seeing a misprint.

"Hermione, you're attending both Divination and Study of Ancient Runes at the same time," said Harry. "You must tell me how you are going to manage attending two classes at once."

"Don't be ridiculous Harry, I won't be attending two classes at once," said Hermione.

"Hermione, that schedule distinctly says Divination and Study of Ancient Runes in the same period," said Daphne.

"I am aware of what the schedule says, Daphne," said Hermione. "I do know how to read you know. Don't worry, Professor McGonagall arranged it so I can attend all my classes."

"I knew it, McGonagall has a time machine in her office," said Harry jokingly. "I knew there was a reason why she is always why she always seems to be in the right place at the wrong time."

Hermione turned to her schedule, hiding herself wincing. Her friend came close to hitting how she was going to attend two classes at once.

"No, Hermione, seriously, how are managing attending two classes?" prodded Harry.

Hermione felt relieved, Harry was not being serious when he was talking about McGonagall having a time machine in her office.

"Look at the time, we better get off to Study of Ancient Runes, we don't want to be late," said Hermione.

"Talk about evading the subject," said Theodore in a low tone of voice to Daphne as the four third years set off to Study of Ancient Runes and Ginny set off to her first period Potions class.

The third years entered Study of Ancient Runes. The classroom had stones with runes carved into it, indicating different concepts either magical or otherwise. Thankfully, Malfoy and his goons had not taken the class; the only third year to take the class besides Daphne, Theodore, and Harry was Blaise Zabini. A few moments after everyone had settled in, a man who appeared to be in his sixties with gray hair with thick glasses entered the room.

"Welcome to Study of Ancient Runes, the class where we study Ancient Runes, as you could probably guess from the title of this class," said the Professor. "My name is Professor Reginald Johnson, Professor Johnson to you and I will be instructing you for at least the next three years, perhaps longer should you pass your Ordinary Wizarding Levels."

Professor Johnson paced around, doing call roll. He did the mandatory glance to Harry Potter's forehead, looking at his scar.

"Right, you all appear to be all present and accounted for," said Professor Johnson. "First, I hate to sound like that twit Lockhart but I will tell you a little bit about my past. I was chosen to be an Unspeakable for the Department of Mysteries for thirty years of my life, before coming to teach this class nine years ago when the old Professor retired. I have encountered many odd Runes throughout my time in the Department of Mysteries. In this class, you will learn what different runes mean and runes can even be placed on a person. For example, blocks on someone's magical core, memory charms, or putting a massive block on his or her entire subsection of memories all together. These three leave faint traces on the person's magical core in the form of a rune."

Johnson paced around the classroom, as the Ravenclaws, the Slytherins, and Hermione took notes, taking in every word that he said.

"I have given you a brief course description on this day but now as it is only the first day, you will have a free period, as I always hated working on the first day when I was a student, and I would be awfully hypocritical to make you do the same thing," said Johnson. "Next week, we will pick up with some of the most common Runes. No homework as well. Good day to you all."

Everyone in the class looked happy at the thought of no homework, with the exception of Hermione who looked rather disappointed.

After the class, Daphne, Theodore, Harry, and Hermione were walking from class to lunch.

"Study of Ancient Runes sounds like an interesting class from what little we heard today," said Harry.

"I would have to agree, plus being taught by a former Unspeakable," said Daphne.

"Yep, impressive, as that's not a job you can just go out and apply for," added Theodore. "The Department of Mysteries chooses people to work there, but people cannot just choose to work there."

"All the different, obscure branches of magic, studied in secret deep below the Ministry," said Daphne. "I heard the Minister of Magic does not even know what is going down in the Department of Mysteries. Then again, I'm surprised Fudge knows how to write his own name with half of the decisions he makes."

"Like setting Dementors around a school," said Harry with a shiver. "Right, Hermione."

No answer, Hermione was not there.

"She was just here a minute ago, wasn't she?" asked Harry.

"Yes, she was Harry, I wonder what happened to her," said Daphne.

The three walked forward for a little bit more before seeing Hermione in front of them, having an agitated woman on that face.

"That stupid woman, does not know a crystal ball from her head, predicting my inevitable demise," said Hermione in an agitated voice before seeing Daphne, Theodore, and Harry. "Hello, you three, nice to see you. Divination class was a nightmare, that woman who teaches in Professor Trelawney, predicted my death. She said I would fall victim to a grisly fate by being aligned with the one that was marked by the darkness. What rubbish! Now, as I got that rant out of the way, let's go eat lunch, shall we."

"I think we missed something," said Daphne in a confused voice as her, Harry, and Theodore followed Hermione to lunch. "Since when did she have time to have Divination and get her death predicted?"

"Search me," said Theodore in a confused tone of voice.

The four third years sat down on the Slytherin Table where Ginny and a blonde haired Ravenclaw girl who Harry did not know joined them a short time later.

"Hello, Harry, Daphne, Theodore, Hermione," said Ginny before turning to the Ravenclaw. "This is Luna Lovegood, her and I were friends ages ago, but we kind of lost touch about a year before when went to Hogwarts. She wanted to talk to me last year but she had already been harassed by her fellow dormitory members and she did not want any more trouble by associating with someone who was friends with Harry when he was declared the plague of the Wizarding World by the general public."

"Hello, Luna, nice to meet you," said Harry, nodding his head.

"Thank you, Harry," said Luna. "I must say it was a shock to see you in Slytherin but it made sense. I myself wanted to be in Slytherin but the hat seemed to want to put me in Gryffindor so we settled on a compromise, putting me in Ravenclaw. But, I have a question to ask you. What is it like being raised by the mysterious Mutant Turtle creatures that live in the New York sewers?"

Harry spat out his drink at this little question and Ginny looked at Luna curiously before looking at Harry. Harry had promised to tell Ginny the whole truth about his family tonight, even taking her to the Room of Requirement to have them meet them. Harry thanked his lucky stars hardly anyone else was at Lunch to hear about this.

"Luna, what exactly are you talking about?" asked Hermione, attempting to save Harry from an awkward situation.

"You know, the famous Turtle creatures, they have been featured in the Quibbler many times. My father, who is the editor, heard about them from several reliable sources," said Luna. "They are said to be a top secret project of the American Wizarding Government Branch of the Department of Mysteries but something did not go quite right, so they were set free, with the only stipulation being that they helped bring Muggle criminals to justice. It's sad no one seems to take the Quibbler serious, there loss, otherwise more people will know of these fine Turtles' heroic efforts."

Harry looked at Luna who was waiting for his answer and then to Ginny, who apparently was starting to get a little bit too curious for her own good.

"Luna, Ginny, I would like to talk to you both, in private," said Harry in a low tone of voice.

The two second year students stood up, following Harry out of the Great Hall, into a corridor.

"Luna, Ginny, you two have accidentally learned something that should be kept a secret," said Harry. "I am afraid there is only one thing I must do."

"You are going to modify our memories, Harry," said Luna as if she was discussing the weather.

"No, nothing of the sort, why would you think that?" asked Harry.

"Well, the Quibbler had an article about how the vengeful spirit of Gilderoy Lockhart was going to possess you and go on a rampage, erasing the memories of everyone in the Wizarding world," replied Luna as if this wasn't a concern at all.

"Luna, Lockhart isn't dead," said Ginny before adding "Unfortunately" underneath her breath.

"I'll take you two to see them, if you promise to get your father to stop writing articles about them, Luna," said Harry.

"Okay, Harry," said Luna nonchalantly. "I'll promise to try to get him to stop writing the articles but I will be surprised if he does, as the issues with features on the Turtles are big best sellers. I'll take you up on your offer to meet them."

Ginny nodded in agreement, wondering exactly if Luna was telling another one of her stories and Harry was just humoring her, or something else was up. Harry rolled his eyes in amusement. He could not imagine his brothers being famous, known around the world, known by millions but then again, stranger things have happened in the world. Hagrid, with his fascination for dangerous creatures, had become Care of Magical Creatures Teacher. Not that Harry had anything against this; it was just that Hagrid's beliefs on what made a creature dangerous tended to be different than the sane person's.

Harry, Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione went down to Care of Magical Creatures. To Harry's utter disdain, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had elected to take this class. Ron Weasley looked up at Harry, giving him a brief nod of acknowledgement. The two had come to an understanding there would coexist at the end of Harry's second year.

"Hello, everyone, welcome to Care O' Magical Creatures," said the booming voice of Hagrid. "Now, I want ya to all open yer books..."

"How?" asked the pompous voice of Draco Malfoy.

"Excuse me?" asked Hagrid.

"How do we open these books?" asked Malfoy with a sneer. "You assign these bloody books that try to rip our hands off when we touch them and you don't even tell us how to open them."

Hagrid looked at Malfoy before gazing upon the rest of the class with a dumbstruck look on his face.

"No one has been able ter open their books," said Hagrid looking around.

Everyone in the class shook their heads. Hagrid took a moment to collect his thoughts.

"It's easy, ya got to stroke them," said Hagrid before taking Hermione's book, ripping the tape off of it. "See."

The book growled but Hagrid ran his fingers across the spine. The book gave a shiver before falling flat. The other members of the class imitated Hagrid's behavior although Malfoy gave the Gamekeeper a dirty look. Hagrid looked bothered and turned to Harry.

"I thought they were funny," said Hagrid uncertainly.

Harry gave a sigh before turning to bail his biggest friend out.

"Well, they were kind of amusing," said Harry in a forced tone of voice.

"Real witty, attempting to rip my hand off," said Malfoy sarcastically.

"If it's your hand, Malfoy, then yes it's real witty," commented Harry in a bored tone of voice.

"Okay, ya all got yer books, now all ya need are the Magical Creatures," said Hagrid. "Follow me."

The Gryffindors and the Slytherins followed Hagrid. For a moment, Harry thought Hagrid was leading them towards the Forbidden Forest. Harry went in that place of horrors twice and that was more than enough. However, Hagrid had the class stopped at a paddock, which had some winged creatures that resembled a cross between a giant eagle and horse.

"Oooh!" exclaimed a third year Gryffindor girl named Lavender Brown, gazing upon the creatures.

"Hippogriffs," said Hagrid proudly. "Fine creatures these are, but very proud, extremely proud. Don't want to insult a Hippogriff as it will be the last thin' ya ever do."

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were in conversation. Draco wanted to get this big oaf sacked and this was a great opportunity to do so if Draco could get one of the Hippogriffs to savage him. Surely the oaf would be out of Hogwarts for good.

"Alright, which of ya wants to go first," said Hagrid.

None of the class wanted to do it. Harry sighed; someone had to be the volunteer. Harry stepped forward.

"Good man, Harry," said Hagrid proudly. "Let's see how you get along with Buckbeak here."

Harry walked forward as Hagrid let Buckbeak out of the paddock.

"Now, ya got to maintain eye contact, Harry, as Hippogriffs don't trust ya if you blink," said Hagrid "Now, you need to bow, that's it."

Harry bowed, his eyes watering from lack of blinking. The Hippogriff remained unmoving, staring at Harry with a dangerous glare.

"Ah, back off Harry, don't want to..." started Hagrid before Buckbeak sank to his knees in a bow. Hagrid looked pleased at this fact. "Good job, Harry, now ya can go and pat his beak."

Harry walked forward cautiously, patting the creature on the beak. He expected an outburst but Buckbeak lazily shut his eyes, enjoying the patting on the peak.

"I think he might let ya right him now, Harry," said Hagrid.

Harry looked at Buckbeak. This should be an experience, Harry believed. Hagrid helped Harry onto Buckbeak, before giving him some final instructions.

"Now be sure ter not pull out his feathers Harry, he won't like that," said Hagrid before slapping the Hippogriff on the backside. "Now be off with ya."

Buckbeak rose into the air, flying around the air, doing a lap around the air. This was rather fun, flying around in the open air like this. Harry looked around. He had to say it, he tried to fight it, but he just had to say it. This situation demanded he would say it.

"Cowabunga!" yelled Harry as Buckbeak began to touch down on the ground.

"Cowabunga?" said Malfoy turning his nose up in disgust while Crabbe and Goyle stood folding their arms attempting to look meancing.

Harry got off Buckbeak as the Gryffindors, Daphne, and Theodore cheered him for braving the hippogriff.

"Thank you, you are too kind," said Harry.

"Potter, that was pathetic, I can do better," said Malfoy before walking over to Buckbeak and bowing. The beast bowed before him. "See, anyone can do it, Potter. After all, this thing is nothing but a great big ugly brute, does not have enough brain cells to see who it is bowing too..."

Buckbeak reared up into the air angrily, slashing Malfoy on the arm. Malfoy fell back, blood squirting from his arm, moaning in pain. In his little plot, Draco appeared to get a little more than he bargained for.

"I'm hurt, it's killed me, I'm dying," said Malfoy dramatically.

"Yer not dying!" cried Hagrid frantically, his first class not going as he had planned. "Listen up, I'm going to take him to the hospital wing."

Hagrid scooped up Malfoy, taking him to the hospital wing. Malfoy acted like he was starting to go limp in Hagrid's arms.

"Malfoy, trust him to ruin everything," said Daphne angrily. "I didn't even get a chance to ride the Hippogriff."

Daphne, Theodore, Harry, and Hermione walked off into the castle, cursing Malfoy's very existence. They ruined Hagrid's first lesson and they had a funny feeling the Gamekeeper may be losing his confidence after what Malfoy pulled in his class.

Later that night, Harry took Ginny and Luna up to meet his family. Theodore and Daphne looked like they would want to join them but Hermione dragged them along to visit Hagrid. Harry promised they could meet them on another night.

Luna, Ginny, and Harry arrived outside the Room of Requirement. Harry stopped, turning to the two girls.

"Now listen you two, I must warn you before we do this, my family is extremely unique," said Harry. "So, please do not scream, yell, or freak out."

"Harry, how bad they possibly be, even through it is a bit of a shock they are actually here at Hogwarts?" said Ginny. "I wonder why they are here, unless it had something to do with that attack."

"Oh because of the Shredder," said Luna and Ginny did a double take as she looked at Luna. "You know, Oroku Saki, he is trying to take over all of the bakeries in New York. My father wrote an article about it in the Quibbler last spring and how the Turtles were trying to stop him."

Ginny looked at Luna in amazement. She had just mentioned Turtles again. Why would Harry be raised by Turtles, they normally were in a glass bowl and did not have any powers of speech, so surely they could not raise a small boy? Ginny decided to brush it off as another one of her eccentric friend's tales.

"Luna, you know way too much for your own good," said Harry shaking his head. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Harry opened up the door of the makeshift lair. Ginny and Luna entered the lair as the Turtles and Splinter were just finishing an intense round of training.

Ginny's eyes went as wide as saucers. Four giant turtles and a giant rat, she could not believe what she was seeing. As much as she hated to admit it, after last year's episode with Tom and the diary, she could not mentally handle any more shocks for a few more months.

"Hello, Harry," said Mikey. "You must introduce you to your two friends."

"This is my friend Ginny Weasley, you know the one I have told you about a lot, and her friend, Luna Lovegood," said Harry.

"Hello, Luna, Ginny," said Leo.

"Pleased to meet you," said Luna as if nothing was wrong at all but the fact that the turtles talked seemed to be a bit too much for Ginny to handle in her present mental state.

Harry heard a thud. He whipped around and saw Ginny was lying on the ground at the sight of his family, not to mention the fact they talked.

"Nice going Leo, you killed her," said Harry.

"No actually, I think she just fainted," said Luna calmly.


	6. Chapter 6: Seeds of Mistrust

**Chapter 06: Seeds of Mistrust**

Harry looked at Ginny as Mikey and Raph started snickering. A look from Harry shut them up and Harry wondered if he should gently wake his friend or do something a bit more interesting. Harry wished someone would give a sign so he could decide on which route to take.

A bucket of ice-cold water materializing in his hand from the Room of Requirement answered the question to Harry's dilemma. Smirking, Harry tossed the water in Ginny's face. Ginny bolted up, looking around wildly before seeing a smirking Harry holding the empty bucket.

"Was that really necessary?" asked Ginny irritably. "I didn't freak out, I didn't scream, I just fainted. I knew what I saw but it just hit me unexpectedly. You could have warned me that your family was four talking turtles and a giant rat who could also talk."

"Actually I believe I've been warning you about that fact all day," said Luna calmly.

"Wait, wait whoa, how did you know we existed, Luna?" asked Don looking baffled.

"My father has contacts in New York who work in the American Wizarding Government Headquarters, who saw you guys coming out of a manhole," explained Luna. "I wouldn't worry through, not everyone seems to read my father's publication like they should. Such a pity, as it debunks myths and uncovers the strange and mysterious in the Wizarding World."

"Strange and Mysterious!" exclaimed Mikey in excitement. "Where can I sign up for a subscription?"

Before Luna could answer, Ginny held up her hand.

"I'm just wondering one thing, could you please tell me how you became what you are?" asked Ginny. Luna opened her mouth. "I know you know Luna, but I want to hear from the official source."

Harry drew in a deep breath before launching into the summarized version of the origin story of his family.

"Boy buys turtles, blind man crosses street, nearly gets killed by Muggle motor vehicle, turtles get dropped in sewers, ooze flies out, dropping into sewer, rat investigates, both turtles and rat get tampered with ooze," said Harry. "The ooze effects the growth patterns and the result is right in front of you. The wise guy in the orange headband is my brother Michelangelo. Then the brainiac in the purple headband is Donatello. The hothead in the red headband is Raphael and then the levelheaded one in the blue headband is Leonardo. Lastly, the giant humanoid rat is my Sensei, Master Splinter. He pretty much taught me everything I know."

"Our origin story by Harry James Potter, in sixty seconds or less," said Mikey in a loud booming infomercial host voice. "Order your free audio copy today."

Raph smacked Mikey across the back of the head for his insanity but something Harry said made Ginny curious.

"Everything about what, Harry?" asked Ginny looking curious.

"The martial arts, ninjitsu, one of the most difficult concepts to master, the art of self defense, the art of focusing one's soul, body, and mind as one," said Harry.

The idea of focusing the mind got Ginny's attention. She could have used a skill like that last year, when Tom took her over. Maybe if she asked Harry nicely later, he would teach her what he knows. Ginny decided to wait a little bit, to think it over, as from what Harry said, this sounded like a very difficult skill to master. Still, she did not want to be victimized like Tom did to her last year so anything she could do to prevent something like that from happening again sounded interesting.

"Interesting," said Luna. "A most noble skill if I am not mistaken but not all have the right temperament to learn it."

Harry nodded his head in agreement before rising to his feet up beckoning Ginny and Luna out of the room.

"You two seen what I told you I would let you see," said Harry. "Now, as it is getting late, we'll be leaving now."

Harry turned to his family.

"I will be checking in for a more extensive visit over the weekend," said Harry. "I bid you all a good night."

Luna went back to her dormitory as Harry and Ginny went back to down to the Dungeons. The two arrived at the Dungeons. Ginny went in but a calm voice stopped Harry.

"Mr. Potter, I would like a word with you in my office," said the voice.

Harry turned around and saw Snape with a neutral expression on his face.

"Before you ask, what I have to say is not about your little nighttime wanderings," said Snape. "I am aware of the circumstances behind them but I have another pressing matter that I need to discuss with you."

Harry followed Snape into the office. Snape sat down at his desk and Harry sat down on the chair opposite from it.

"Potter, what I am going to tell you is going to enrage you so I am going to suggest you hear all of what I am about to say, " said Snape before going into his narration. "I am sure you are aware that Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban prison over the summer. However, the full story has not gotten out, so I'll tell you Black's past. Black was your father's best friend in school, your father trusted Black beyond everyone else."

Harry raised his eyebrows, wondering where this was going.

"Black led the Dark Lord to the house that your parents and yourself was hiding it," said Snape in coolly.

"What!" exclaimed Harry in an enraged tone of voice.

"Yes, Potter, if I was in your spot, I would have had the same reaction," said Snape. "Your parents trusted Black and he betrayed them. The Dark Lord killed them on that night, but Black is not just a coward who led the Dark Lord to your parents. The next day, for an encore, he killed thirteen people with a shockwave curse, a very rare and powerful dark magic. Few could cast such a spell or have knowledge of how to do so. Twelve Muggles and a wizard died on that morning. Black was taken to Azkaban prison on that day where he remained until last summer."

Harry had a look of rage on his face but Snape held up his hand.

"There is more, pertaining to Black's accomplice Bellatrix Lestrange," said Snape calmly. "She has never been the sanest person in the world and I fear Azkaban may have turned her into more of a raving lunatic than she was before. She slaughtered your Grandparents on your mother's side, quite brutally I might add. Also, coincidentally, she put your Aunt Petunia under the Cruciatus Curse for an extensive amount of time before your mother managed to intervene before it drove her completely insane. She merely had a mild dislike for magic up to that point but with the murder of her parents and the torture that mild dislike turned into utter hatred and loathing to anything remotely relating to magic. Make no mistake, this was not completely responsible for her prejudice but the fact remains it worsened it."

Snape looked at Harry who seemed to bit unnerved.

"Lestrange and Black are dangerous, Mr. Potter," said Snape. "I am giving you these tales of the past to illustrate the fact that they will attack innocents before I give you the order Dumbledore gave me. I am sure you are aware that third years have the privilege of visiting the Wizarding village Hogsmeade."

"Master Splinter already signed the form, Professor," said Harry.

"Mr. Potter, I shall be blunt and say Dumbledore has banned from visiting Hogsmeade until Black and Lestrange are put back into Azkaban," said Snape.

"What!" exclaimed Harry. "What authority does Dumbledore have over me? I can take care of myself."

"I am aware of that Potter, I am merely passing on the message," said Snape coolly. "You will not be allowed to visit Hogsmeade unless the two fugitives are captured. The Headmaster has ordered that with the blessing of the Minister of Magic and I cannot overrule that decree. That is all I require of you. Good night, Potter."

Snape saw Potter get to his feet. The boy looked calm but Snape could see that he was holding in a burst of anger. As he watched the boy go, Severus cursed that Vow he made with Dumbledore once again. If given the choice and knowing how Dumbledore was going to use him worse than the Dark Lord ever did, Snape would have chosen the Dementor's Kiss. Snape knew Black was no guiltier of the crimes he committed then Crabbe and Goyle were of achieving stellar grades. However, Dumbledore told Severus to tell Potter the story, which the Wizarding World believed to be true. Snape knew the full truth, even more than Dumbledore knew as he had been in the middle of Voldemort's Inner Circle. The Dark Lord had few flaws but one of them happened to be he put a little too much trust in Severus Snape.

Everything Snape said about Bellatrix Lestrange rang true, but those words were only barely scratching the surface of the crimes she committed over the years. Snape knew Bellatrix never really trusted him and would hate to encounter her wrath should he ever meet her alone. The Potions Master shuddered, praying that day would never happen.

Harry was tossing and turning in his bed, his mind unsettled. Both Black and Lestrange had been responsible for killing at least some of his family members. Harry looked up, before shutting his eyes dark thoughts dancing in his mind. He wished he were strong enough magically so he could track down both and make them pay for causing either the death of his parents or his grandparents with their lives.

The next morning, Hermione was telling Harry about how the meeting with Hagrid went next night.

"It's horrid, I'm telling you," said Hermione. "Lucius Malfoy has been in touch with the Board of Governors..."

"I thought Lucius got sacked by the Board after last year," said Harry attempting to keep his voice calm at the news he heard over the night about Black.

"There are still some members who are in Lucius's back pocket, along with half of the Ministry," said Theodore. "Anyway, as Hermione was saying, Lucius is trying to get Hagrid sacked but Dumbledore appeared to have stepped in."

"So all's well now," said Ginny.

"No, now Lucius is trying to get Buckbeak executed for attacking his demon spawn of a son," said Daphne. "It was Malfoy's fault the hippogriff attacked him, he should have listened to Hagrid but he didn't."

Snape walked up to the table wordlessly. Harry looked at Snape with a neutral look but Snape stopped in front of Ginny.

"I have been asked by the Headmaster to give this to you Miss Weasley," said Snape. "He says he wants to speak to you after your first class this morning on an urgent matter."

Snape left as Ginny looked puzzled and a bit angered.

"He didn't speak to me all year, when I was getting possessed by that diary," said Ginny in a low angry voice. "Surely a wizard of his caliber would recognize someone being possessed but he did not step in."

Harry looked at Ginny. Something about Dumbledore wanting to see Ginny right now felt not right to Harry but he could not place it. Harry wondered what kind of game was Dumbledore playing now before remembering something that happened during his first year. How Dumbledore seemed so insistent on giving Harry a lemon drop when the old man wanted him resorted in Gryffindor. Remembering how Dumbledore tried to manipulate him since, something hit Harry. He was foolish for not seeing it sooner.

"Ginny, whatever you do, don't take anything he offers you to eat or drink especially lemon drops," hissed Harry. "I think they may be spiked with some kind of potion to control the mind but I'm not quite sure..."

Harry then remembered something he read in a rare text in the Slytherin library. About Suggestive Potions, potions that gave the administrator control over the victim's mind and anything said during the short time would be interpreted as an order that must be followed even after the potion wears off.

"Dumbledore has been lacing lemon drops with Suggestive Potion," whispered Harry in a low tone.

Daphne and Theodore had horrified looks on their face. That particular potion was among one of the darkest potions in existence.

"Those are illegal," whispered Daphne incredulously. "If Dumbledore has been using one of those, he can be sentenced to life in Azkaban."

"I think we may have caught Dumbledore with his robes down," said Theodore triumphantly but Harry shook his head.

"No, not enough yet plus the old man no doubt has a few tricks up his sleeve to make sure he cannot be sent to Azkaban," said Harry.

"So, what would you suggest, Harry?" asked Ginny.

"Go to the meeting, but don't under any circumstances eat or drink anything," said Harry. "We cannot arouse the old man's suspicions until we know everything about him."

Ginny trusted Harry's judgment above most others with the possible exception of select members of her family. She would just have to follow his advice, hopefully getting out of the Headmaster's office without being manipulated.

"Come on, we've got Defense Against the Dark Arts in a little bit," said Theodore. "I am looking forward to seeing how this Professor Lupin teaches."

"Can't be any worse than Lockhart," said Daphne lightly as she followed Theodore and Harry for the Slytherin's Defense Against the Dark Arts period.

"A rock charmed to talk and walk can do a better job than Lockhart," said Harry. "Still, I'll keep an open mind as we go to this class. He could actually be a good teacher for all I know."

"A competent Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, now that's something you don't see every day," said Daphne.

The Slytherins arrived at the class rather early, with the exception of Draco Malfoy who appeared to be exaggerating his injuries caused by Buckbeak in the hospital wing. They pulled out their books, waiting for Professor Lupin to arrive. A few moments later, Lupin arrived, his robes rather shabby but looking cheerful. After taking roll, Lupin turned to address the class.

"Good morning," said Lupin. "You will only need your wands as this is only a practical lesson. You are to follow me to the staff room, where we will have our lesson."

The third year Slytherins rose to their feet, following Lupin out of his classroom, down the corridors. Peeves appeared to be causing his usual amount of mischief, with a stolen beater bat and a quaffle, bouncing the quaffle against the wall, before hitting it, breaking a window.

"Filch won't be happy," said Daphne in a low voice as Theodore snickered.

As Peeves saw Harry, the Poltergeist gave Harry a salute before turning to Pansy Parkinson and giving her another salute, with his middle finger sticking straight up in the air. Parkinson gave Peeves a dirty look but Peeves just cackled.

"That wacky Peeves," remarked Harry, looking rather amused, as the Slytherins stopped outside the staff room. Lupin opened the door, leading them into the room.

The Third Year Slytherins entered the staff room. Harry could see a cabinet rattling, as Lupin turned to address the class.

"No need to be alarmed, there is only a Boggart within that cupboard," said Lupin.

By the looks of most of the faces of the class, that appeared to be a just cause to be alarmed by. Lupin fixed his face into a neutral expression.

"Who can tell me what a Boggart is?" asked Lupin.

Theodore raised his hand along with Daphne but Lupin looked at Theodore first.

"Yes, Theodore," said Lupin.

"A shape shifter, it takes the form of whatever our deepest, darkest, most brutal fear is," said Theodore.

"Excellent, could not have said it better myself," said Lupin. "Now it is best to have company with a Boggart as when it encounters many people, there appears to be a problem. Have you spotted it for us, Harry?"

"If there are many people, then the Boggart would not know exactly what it should turn into," said Harry.

"Excellent response, Harry," said Lupin. "The trick is to have lots of company when encountering a Boggart. Now before we begin, I would like you to think of something that you believe to be your deepest, darkest fear."

The class concentrated hard and Harry wondered what exactly his fear would be. The first thought centered completely on Oroku Saki, the Shredder but it was pushed out of his mind by another, more sinister force. As vile and evil as Saki was, from what Harry heard a Voldemort who returned to full power would be even worse to imagine.

"Now, the spell to repel the Boggart," said Lupin. "The incantation is Riddikulus. Say it out loud, now, please."

"Riddikulus," muttered the Slytherins dully.

"Excellent, but I'm afraid merely reciting the word is enough," said Lupin. "Casting this spell is all about intent and focus. Focusing on something that will make your fear amusing is the best way to make this spell successful. Take a moment to do this exercise."

Harry thought about the best way to make a Boggart Voldemort amusing but something else hit Harry suddenly. A cloaked figure with a rattling sound coming from its hood, slimy hands appeared in Harry's mind. The darkness within, making Harry reveal all of his worst memories and all of the times he felt he failed. Still, Harry was at a loss how to counteract this menace.

"Everybody line up, wands ready," called Lupin. "I am now going to open the door, calling forth the Boggart."

Daphne was at the front of the line, taking a deep breath, raising her wand, ready to face her greatest fear. Lupin raised his wand, opening the door. She gasped as she saw her greatest fear. An oversized cockroach came out of the cabinet, coming right for her.

"Riddikulus!" cried Daphne. After this spell was uttered, this cockroach wore a baby bonnet and a diaper.

"Blaise, forward," said Lupin.

Blaise Zabini stepped into focus as the Boggart turned into transformed werewolf. Blaise raised his wand in the air.

Harry looked over at Lupin and perhaps it was Harry's imagination but Lupin's eyebrows raised for a second at Zabini's fear.

"Riddikulus," said Blaise as the Werewolf turned into a cute little puppy dog, whimpering and looking up at Zabini with its eyes.

"Tracey, forward," said Lupin to Tracey Davis, a quiet black haired third year girl that Harry didn't know much about.

Tracey turned to the Boggart, which had morphed, into her worst fear, an Inferius. These horrid things were corpses enchanted to do the bidding of the Dark Wizard, most recently used by Lord Voldemort during his reign of terror. A group of them had been responsible for slaughter Tracey's father a few months before Voldemort met his downfall and even through she was only a year old then, the Slytherin girl had nightmares about Inferi coming to finish off her, her mother, and her younger brother, who was born just about a week after her father was killed.

Tracey looked up; she needed to face her fears.

"Riddikulus," said Tracey as the Inferi became frozen before turning to stone.

"Good, Vincent, your turn," said Lupin, calling Crabbe over.

Crabbe walked over as the stone statue turned into a stack of books.

"Riddikulus," grunted Crabbe as the books burst into fire. Crabbe always loved the smell of burning literature.

"Gregory, you're on," said Lupin calling to Goyle.

Goyle sauntered forward and the Boggart turned into Professor McGonagall. Goyle screamed like a little girl at the sight of his least favorite teacher who if he had to admit feared just a little bit. Still, he staggered his wand, ready for action.

"Riddikulus," growled Goyle as McGonagall now had a cheerleader outfit on equipped with pom-poms. Cheerleader McGonagall did a cartwheel.

Remus shuddered; he would have to drink a lot of firewhiskey to suppress this memory of his old teacher in this state. That was worse than the time Sirius and James made Slughorn's robes vanish in the middle of the Great Hall. Dark thoughts about the traitor entered Remus's mind but he had to shake them off. Shaking his head, he regained his composure.

"Pansy, you're next," said Lupin attempting to shake off that awful crime against nature he just saw.

Parkinson walked forward as McGonagall morphed into a rat. The girl shuddered before raising her wand in the air.

"Riddikulus!" cried Pansy as a noose wrapped around the rat's neck causing it to be strangled before a sickening snapping sound was heard. A smile came across Pansy's face, seeing the horrid little beast's neck snapped.

Harry felt queasy at Parkinson's method of making the Boggart amusing for obvious reasons. It was Theodore, Bulstrode and himself left due to Malfoy's absence but Harry still could not figure out a countermove to the Dementor Boggart.

"Theodore, forward," said Lupin.

Theodore Nott went forward wand raised as the hanged rat morphed into a demonic looking clown, with blood dripping from its mouth. The clown had a meancing glare in its eyes as Theodore raised his wand in the air.

"Riddikulus!" cried Theodore.

The clown became devoid of all color before turning into a mime.

"Millicent, forward," said Lupin to Millicent Bulstrode.

The trollish looking girl stepped forward as the mime turned into a mirror showing her own reflection. Millicent had always been vain about her looks and she knew how horrid she looked. She harbored some jealously to the three other girls in her years. Still, she raised her wand.

"Riddikulus," said Millicent dully as the mirror shattered into pieces.

Harry was ready but Lupin stepped forward.

"My turn," said Lupin.

Harry looked at the Boggart, which appeared to morph into something that resembled the moon as Lupin moved in front of it. Harry gave his head a shake, must have been a trick of light, as why would Lupin be afraid of the moon of all things?

"Riddikulus," said Lupin lazily as the moon turned into glass before shattering. Lupin ushered the Boggart back into his home where he could use it for later third year classes.

Harry felt disappointed but he wondered why Lupin did not let have a turn against the Boggart. The third year Slytherin wondered if Lupin thought of him as week after he went into shock at the sight of Dementors on the train for a brief period.

"Excellent work all of you," said Lupin in a proud tone of voice. "Five points to everyone plus an additional five points to Theodore and Harry for answering my questions at the beginning of class. The homework assignment is to read and summarize the chapter on Boggarts. That will be all."

The Third Year Slytherins left as Remus sank down into a chair. That class went a lot easier then he expected although he knew that was due to the lack of presence of one Draco Malfoy. No doubt Malfoy would disrupt things once he was released from the hospital wing.

Remus was shocked that Harry was in Slytherin but after all from all of what he heard it made sense. After all, Lily was close enough to be a Slytherin at points during her time at Hogwarts. Harry looked like a spitting image of James at thirteen with the exception of the eyes but from what Lupin got out of Snape, he appeared to for the most part to inherit Lily's personality. Remus just hoped for the sake of everyone in the world that Harry did not inherit his mother's temper.

Remus gave his head a shake. He needed to stop living in the past, as it would do him no good to dwell on what might have been. Nevertheless, his inner wolf demanded he would hunt down the traitor and rip him limb from limb.

Ginny arrived outside Dumbledore's office. The youngest Weasley did not want to be here at all but she resisted the urge to tell Dumbledore where to shove his invitation.

"Lemon Drop," said Ginny a little forcibly to the gargoyle. The guardian of Dumbledore's office sprang open.

Ginny stepped into Dumbledore's office as Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, with the ever-present bowl of lemon drops in front of him.

The Headmaster looked up, seeing what was to become within a matter of moments the latest pawn in his endless game of chess for control of the Wizarding World.

"Ah, Miss Weasley, I have been expecting you," said Dumbledore in his best grandfatherly tone of voice. He needed to gain the girl's trust to ruthlessly manipulate her after all. "Do sit down, please."

Dumbledore had several plans to get the Weasley girl under his power but he decided to go with the least sneaky and least suspicious course of action first.

"So, Ginny, I see you are coming along after that ordeal with Voldemort last year," said Dumbledore.

"Yes, much better, Harry's helping me come along well just like he helped save me from the Chamber when no one else would," said Ginny, choosing her words carefully, attempting to make sure that Dumbledore caught the implied meaning of what she said without really saying it.

Dumbledore did not blink an eye but he could tell what the girl was implying. Still, Dumbledore decided to press on, as he would not give up on a plan in a few seconds.

"You and Harry seem to be rather close friends," said Dumbledore. "No doubt you are aware of Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange escaping from Azkaban. Also, I would assume you would be aware with your connection with Voldemort."

"I'm aware of it, Headmaster," said Ginny coolly.

"Then you must understand the danger your friend must be in," said Dumbledore faking tears in his eyes, attempting to make the girl believe he was actually concerned for Harry's well being. "I cannot keep him safe all of the time and I am unaware what he gets up to outside of hours. So, Ginny, for Harry's sake could you please keep me informed of everything he does. Do keep in mind that I only have Harry's best interests in heart."

Ginny felt angered, that Dumbledore would believe she would actually agree to spy on her friend. Ginny pulled herself up to her feet, staring the Headmaster down with an accusing look in her eyes.

"What have you done for me exactly, Headmaster?" asked Ginny dangerously, nearly spitting the last word out. "You could have done something last year when I was being possessed by Tom. After all, you are said to be the best wizard in hundreds of years so surely you would've noticed a student being possessed under your nose. Or are you not as powerful as you want to make everyone to believe?"

Dumbledore felt angered but attempted to regain his bearing. He hated people questioning his power and his authority. Keeping this primitive form required his very essence to be fueled by the respect of lower forms of life, such as the wizards and witches who think he was there savior. Still, Dumbledore felt he needed to switch to Plan B.

"You do seem stressed out, Ginny, do have a lemon drop they always calm me down when I am upset," said Dumbledore.

"No, I don't think I'll have a lemon drop, Headmaster just like I won't spy on Harry for you either," said Ginny.

"My dear, I only have his best interests in mind," said Dumbledore in what he hoped was considered a soft, soothing voice. "Please, do this for Harry's sake."

"I won't betray my friend's trust like that, Professor," said Ginny angrily.

Dumbledore lost it, reaching forward and grabbing the girl's arm roughly.

"You will do as I say you stupid little girl!" thundered Dumbledore.

Ginny looked up at Dumbledore, a bit frightened if she was honest with herself. This was definitely not the grandfatherly Headmaster she heard about and perhaps it was just her imagination, but Dumbledore's blue eyes seemed to turn a deep shade of red for a minute.

"I won't," hissed Ginny slapping the Headmaster across the face to cause him to let go.

Ginny looked up with horror. She hit an old man, a powerful manipulative old man but an old man nevertheless. Her arm was really sore and it appeared to have a red handprint on it from where Dumbledore grabbed it.

Dumbledore looked enraged the girl dare touched the great Albus Dumbledore.

"Fine, you won't obey me when I ask nicely, I will have to do it another way," said Dumbledore before raising his wand. "Imperio."

The curse struck Ginny and her mind felt foggy. She recognized what this was, her father once told her about it. It was the Imperius Curse, a curse that can be used to completely control a victim. Still, Ginny wondered if she should be capable of rational thought if that was the case.

Dumbledore threw his full power into the curse, after all he could care less if the girl's brain was completely shredded into pieces as long as his goals in getting Potter under his thumb was completely achieved.

"You will spy on Harry Potter, report everything he does to me," commanded Dumbledore in a cold voice, extremely different from the grandfatherly tone he used with the rest of the world.

Something in Ginny's mind seemed to be pushing it back. It was faint but it pushed the curse from her, making Dumbledore's hold upon her extremely faint and loose.

"No," said Ginny simply.

Dumbledore released the spell, shocked. He then remembered the bond he sensed slowly forming between Harry and Ginny. As Ginny was connected to Harry, she appeared to be drawing magic from her connection from him to fight the curse. The Headmaster shuddered to think how powerful both Harry and Ginny would be once the bond completed. They might even rival Dumbledore even this primitive form in power and Albus could not very well have that. Dumbledore remembered that Halloween night when he put a block on Harry's magical powers, how he could not completely block it due to the immense amount of magical power he possessed.

Ginny looked up at Dumbledore and slowly backed away from him.

"I'll tell the Minister, you'll go to Azkaban for this Dumbledore," said Ginny.

Dumbledore raised his wand, sealing the doors, preventing Ginny from leaving the office.

"Leaving so soon, Ginny," said Dumbledore sweetly. "I am afraid I cannot remember what you have seen from me today. I daresay it will ruin my reputation and I really can't have that."

Dumbledore raised his wand in the air, sadistic smirk on his face. The Headmaster did a wordless charm which completely blocked all of Ginny's memories of their conversation before replacing them with false ones of Dumbledore apologizing for putting Ginny in danger last year and Ginny storming out in anger of not believing the Headmaster. Albus felt he might as well keep the false memories realistic, as it would arouse less suspicion. Dumbledore used complete memory blocks in the past but he rarely planted false memories, instead preferring to dump his victims in some alleyway leaving them for dead. The blocks normally started to wear off in ten years but for most of Dumbledore's victims, that time would be too late.

Dumbledore also healed the damaged he did to the girl's arm. The old man may have been manipulative and sneaky, but he knew he needed to cover his tracks.

Dumbledore beckoned for the girl to leave and Ginny Weasley departed, with a blank dreamy expression on her face that should be wearing off in five minutes. The Headmaster sank down, reflecting on another botched plan. Still, Dumbledore had Snape plant the seeds of mistrust in Potter's head regarding Black.

Dumbledore began to draft a letter to Fudge. He would suggest that Fudge order Black to receive the Dementor's kiss but Lestrange not getting the same punishment. Dumbledore still had some use for Bellatrix, even if the woman was a wild card and Dumbledore found it hard to predict her actions.

Dumbledore sent off the letter to Fudge. The Headmaster sat back, enjoying a lemon drop. The Weasley girl plan was a complete failure but at least he would get Black out of his hair by having the Dementors give him a little kiss.


	7. Chapter 7: Darkness Calls

**Chapter Seven: Darkness Calls**

Crabbe and Goyle were not the brightest bulbs in the box. Not by anything but they were loyal to Draco Malfoy to a fault. All of Draco's recent misfortunes seemed to be when the Weasley girl was possessed by the Dark Lord and attacked him. Crabbe and Goyle wanted revenge for their friend's attack and they were going to get it by any means necessary.

They spotted their target walking out of Dumbledore's office. She appeared to be a bit distracted which meant grabbing her to gain revenge for her attack on Draco would be a lot easier.

Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles eagerly. They would worry about what exactly they would do for their revenge at a later but right now, they would just grab Weasley for now. The two walked up, raising their fists in the air but something whizzed through the air, sticking into the wall.

Crabbe and Goyle turned around as Harry Potter just tossed a shuriken at them that narrowly missed their heads.

"I really hope you aren't doing what I think you are going to do," said Harry who decided to go up to Dumbledore's office to see why the old man was keeping Ginny so long. "Attacking one of my friends, not nice is it."

Crabbe and Goyle raised their fists. Their revenge on Weasley for attacking Draco last year could wait for later, they were going to pound Potter into a pulp. They remembered what happened to them the first time they meant Potter, despite the strain it took on their brains to do so. They wouldn't need their wands to do this or perhaps it was the fact that they forget they even possessed such tools to use.

Crabbe and Goyle rushed at Harry and at the last minute, Harry side stepped, causing Crabbe and Goyle to run headfirst into a wall before falling to the ground.

"These are really the best Draco can afford. Surely with his father's vast fortune he could afford better goons," said Harry casually stepping on Crabbe's face as he walked over to Ginny. "Ginny, what happened in Dumbledore's office?"

Ginny looked up at Harry, giving her head a shake, incapable of speaking. Harry could see a blank look in Ginny's eyes and he recognized it as a scaled down version of what happened to Lockhart when the charm backfired on him at the end of Harry's second year.

"Ginny, come with me, we've got to get you to the hospital wing," said Harry looking terrified, hoping against hope Dumbledore did not fry her brain by doing a memory charm or something like that.

Ginny numbly followed him with a blank stare in her eyes. Harry felt a surge of anger and as he walked by, every window he passed seemed to shatter. If Dumbledore did this, he would pay. Harry could care less if he would go to Azkaban for killing the Headmaster, he would make him pay.

In the Hospital Wing, Harry looked at Ginny urgently as Pomfrey examined her, using a series of complex spells Harry did not know. Harry felt partially this was his fault, as he should have insisted he'd come with Ginny to Dumbledore's office instead of letting her go alone. Dumbledore would not dare try anything underhanded in front of Harry. That is if the Headmaster valued his head remaining on top of his shoulders.

"Mr. Potter, it seems that young Miss Weasley has been exposed to an Imperius Curse by a powerful person along with a memory block," said Pomfrey. "The person who did these acts to your friend appears to have thrown a little too much power into them. Your friend will make a full recovery but it will take a couple of months."

"Memory block, is there any way to take it off?" asked Harry in an exasperated voice.

"Not without destroying her mind," said Pomfrey grimly. "It will take time for the block to disappear and it will only start to disintegrate ten years after she has been a full recovery."

Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously. He had an owl he needed to send, to the Minister of Magic. If he could prove Dumbledore was doing what he was doing, he could get him tossed in Azkaban.

On his way to the Owlery, Harry bumped into Snape.

"Potter, where in the name of Salazar Slytherin are you going in such a hurry?" asked Snape irritably.

"Can't talk Professor. Ginny in hospital wing, Dumbledore's going to pay, manipulative old fool, memory block, need to get the Minister of Magic here," said Harry, his green eyes blazing with a fury unmatched by anything Snape had ever seen before.

Harry brushed past Snape as Snape looked bewildered. He wondered what Mr. Potter was blathering on about. Dumbledore did something that enraged Potter. Snape decided to head to the Dumbledore's office, to get to the bottom of this. Snape felt he was going to be driven to the Mental Ward in St. Mungos before the end of the year.

Harry arrived at the Owlery, pulling a piece of parchment, some ink, and a quill out of his bag before scribbling a note.

_Dear Minister Fudge: _

_I have evidence of dark deeds within the walls of Hogwarts. I would suggest you along with some of your best Aurors come here to investigate my suspicions. I will meet you at the Hospital Wing of the school. _

_Harry Potter (yes that Harry Potter)_

Harry quickly attached the note to a barn owl's leg.

"Get this to the Minister, quickly," said Harry a bit sharply to the owl due to his own temper getting the better of him.

The owl hooted but flew off. Harry looked off in the distance. He had a vision dancing in his head of a katanta right at Dumbledore's throat, the old man pleading for mercy as Harry prepared to make him pay for his crimes.

Snape arrived at the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk.

"Yes, Severus, make it quick," said Dumbledore curtly. "I am a very busy man, my plan for today went astray."

"Would that plan involving putting a block on the memory of one of my Slytherins?" asked Snape in a slightly agitated tone of voice.

"Severus, all of what I do is for the greater good," replied Dumbledore calmly. "Do remember your place, through. I would hate to see your insides shredded to bits painfully as you died a slow and painful death for attempting to disobey someone who you have an Unbreakable Vow with. Now, tell me what have you learned that made you storm into my office."

"Potter appeared to be in a rage about something, babbling about Ginny Weasley being in the hospital wing, about a memory block, and about you being a manipulative old fool," said Snape as Dumbledore glared at him. "You did tell me to tell you exactly what Potter told me, did you not, Headmaster."

"Anything else Snape," said Dumbledore in a cold voice that gave Severus shivers.

"He mentioned something about getting in touch with the Minister of Magic," said Snape.

Dumbledore looked at his pawn for a few seconds. It was time for enact some serious damage control. No doubt the Minister would be on his way right now.

"Snape, leave, do not tell anyone of what you know," said Dumbledore. "I will deal with the Minister of Magic."

Snape left as Dumbledore reached into his desk drawer, pulling out his second wand. Dumbledore purchased this second wand on the black market so he could have one wand to use for darker forms of magic and his second wand to use for everyday non-suspicious forms of magic. Potter was starting to be a thorn in his side that he needed to remove. It would take some careful thinking but perhaps finding a way to send Potter on a short trip would give Dumbledore time to map out a better strategy.

As for the Weasley girl's condition, Dumbledore could care less. Dumbledore realized for his own plans to go through people would be sacrificed. So what if a twelve year old girl suffered permanent brain damage from Dumbledore throwing a bit too much of his magic into his memory block. It would all be worth it when Dumbledore took his place as the most feared and most powerful magical entity of in the history of mankind. It was his birthright, not that half blood abomination Riddle, not Harry Potter, but his. By the time Dumbledore's plans were finished, he would be a god as the title of Dark Lord was beneath someone of the Headmaster's stature.

Harry waited outside the Hospital Wing for his guests to arrive. In a flash, a portly looking man with a lime green bowler hat and a purple robe with the title Minister of Magic pinned on it walked up. This man had a half a dozen Aurors flanking him and a toad faced woman carrying a clipboard brought up the rear. It struck Harry how strange it was that they entered the school without encountering any kind of resistance and wondered if Dumbledore was cracked in the head for relying just on Dementors to keep Black and Lestrange out.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, so pleased to finally meet you," said Fudge, grabbing Harry's hand and shaking it eagerly. "I'm Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. I received your message, quite a shock getting mail from Harry Potter."

"Yes, but I called you here today on a very serious matter," said Harry. "Follow me into the Hospital Wing."

"Great Scott!" exclaimed Fudge, seeing Ginny's present condition. "What happened to her?"

Before Harry could answer, Dumbledore walked into the Hospital Wing.

"Minister, so glad to see you here," said Dumbledore. "I see Mr. Potter's message managed to reach you in time. You see this girl was attacked in the corridors. I have not a clue how they managed to slip in but Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange decided to attack her. No doubt attempting to send a message to young Mr. Potter. Thankfully, Harry alerted me at once, so I can manage to hold them off. Alas, they appeared to have escaped before I could call the Dementors to subdue Lestrange and give Black the kiss."

Harry's eyes rolled straight into the back of his head and to his surprise so did a young twenty-year-old female Auror with the group. The Boy-Who-Lived wondered whom in the name of Salazar Slytherin Dumbledore thought he was fooling. Harry could have taken out both Black and Lestrange with or without his wand. He did not need or want the Headmaster Manipulator's help.

"Anything else you can tell us," said Fudge.

"Well, Ginny was leaving from Dumbledore's office jus before I found her," said Harry carefully implying that he felt Dumbledore was not innocent in this matter.

Dumbledore's eyes went wide for a split second. So there was a reason that this meddling brat got sorted in the Slytherin House after all. He thought it was the hat malfunctioned but Dumbledore was counting on Harry to be like his father a little too much back in those days and have utter hatred for all things Slytherin. It appeared Harry was going to try to manipulate Dumbledore into Azkaban but the Headmaster had a spare wand up his sleeve and he would show Harry that playing with fire could get you burned.

"So you're saying Harry, that Dumbledore might have done this," said the twenty-year-old female Auror who rolled her eyes along with Harry with a calculating smirk. "Nymphadora Tonks by the way, Apprentice Auror and former member of the Slytherin House, although calling me by my first name will get cause you to get strangled by your spleen shortly after it gets ripped out even if you have defeated You-Know-Who three times."

"Tonks, remember to learn your place, Apprentice," said Dawlish. "Your job is to observe, not question."

Dawlish then turned to Harry Potter.

"What are you driving at Potter?" asked Dawlish.

"I'm just saying, shouldn't pursue every possible avenue?" asked Harry. "It would make me feel a lot better about giving the Ministry of Magic my full support and would definitely raise your Public Image with the general public."

Fudge grinned as Harry smirked. It appeared that this man thrived on high approval from the people. Harry could have patted himself on the back for his fine use of Slytherin logic.

"Give me your wand, Dumbledore," said Fudge eagerly. "I'm not accusing you but I want to make sure you are innocent because I hate there to be any doubt whatsoever about your lack of guilt."

Dumbledore handed the wand to Fudge, with an expression on his face Harry did not like at all. Harry had seen Dumbledore's wand a couple of times before, but something appeared to be not quite right with Dumbledore's wand. Fudge placed his tip to the tip of Dumbledore's wand.

"Prior Incantato," muttered Fudge at Dumbledore's wand.

Spells erupted out of the end of Dumbledore's wand. It appeared to be normal, everyday spells with the most dangerous spell being an Incendio Charm.

"It appears that Mr. Potter was wrong," said Fudge with a bit of a neutral look on his face. "Still, we had to confirm any suspicions, for the greater good."

Harry knew the greater good was in reality Fudge's own approval rating.

"Now, since this annoyance is concluded, we can go back to working on things with more significance, as running to Hogwarts just because a twelve year old girl was attacked is unimportant a waste of time and resources," said the toad faced woman in a sweet voice that made Harry cringed. This woman only talked for a brief time but Harry hated her already especially when she basically said Ginny being attacked was not important. Harry's hand twitched, dangerously close to his wand and more or less, this woman irritated him so much, he snapped.

"Yes, I'm sure the Ministry of Magic does have more important things to do," said Harry sarcastically. "Like perhaps letting more of Voldemort's old followers escape from Azkaban or setting Dementors around a school full of children. Extremely brilliant decisions you guys have been making as of late..."

"Hem, Hem," said the toad-faced woman cutting off Harry mid diatribe in her sickly sweet voice. "Who do you think you are to question the Ministry of Magic, Potter? We are doing what's in the best interest of the..."

"Silencio," hissed Harry, putting his wand at the woman's throat, striking her silent.

Harry briefly considered doing something a bit more interesting than he did but he did not want to tempt fate by having the office of the Minister of Magic against him cursing his very life like the Shredder, the Foot, The Elite Guard, Hun, Voldemort, Lestrange, Black, Dumbledore, Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, The Purple Dragons, Baxter Stockman, and probably at least a dozen other people that Harry had forgotten about due to acquiring a few too many enemies in recent years.

Dumbledore seized his chance, using a subtle form of Leglimency to take brief possession of Fudge's mind. While in this primitive form, Dumbledore could not possess people for long and they had to be weak minded. Dumbledore needed to get Potter out of the way so he can make further plans and three months was enough time to start formulating something/

"Assault on a Ministry Official," said Fudge. "Potter, by my decree you are to go to Azkaban for three months due to this act. Subdue the prisoner."

Harry looked at the Aurors who had their wands raised at him. Umbridge grinned; even through she could not speak. In hindsight Harry wished he had used something with a bit more punch if he knew it would send him to Azkaban.

"Three months for using a Silencing Charm," said Tonks incredulously. "Minister, even you can see that is a bit harsh."

Tonks did not even get around to saying how wrong she felt it was to throw a thirteen year old in Azkaban before Dawlish managed to speak.

"Apprentice, remember your place," said Dawlish. "You'll be removed from the training program for questioning us although you can earn favor and avoid expulsion by capturing Harry Potter."

Tonks raised her wand with hesitation, a battle brewing in her mind between loyalty to the Slytherin House or her job. She felt against all of her principles she had no choice as once a person got fired from any Ministry department they became blacklisted for life from any employment in the Wizarding World.

"Sorry," whispered Tonks before raising her wand. "Stupefy."

Harry saw the jet of red light coming at him. If it were anyone else but a former Slytherin, Harry would have blocked it and blasted the Auror in question into the wall. However, Harry found out from Daphne and Theodore how hard it was to get a break as an Auror by being a former member of the Slytherin House. So Harry allowed himself to be captured, to help a fellow Slytherin.

Harry went down from the jet of light. If Dumbledore was honest with himself, that seemed a little too easy.

"Excellent work Tonks, you may be promoted to Trainee Auror yet," said Dawlish approvingly.

Tonks looked at the ground, not too happy at what she was forced to do by these impulsive Gryffindor Aurors. The other Aurors lifted up Harry, carting him off to serve his three-month sentence at Azkaban for putting that silencing spell on Umbridge. A sane person would think such an act would normally mandate an Order of Merlin, First Class but no one every accused the office of the Minister of Magic of being sane.

Little did anyone know, Luna was standing outside the Hospital Wing, listening to every word. No one seemed hardly ever pay attention to her due to her beliefs in the strange and the mysterious, which made Luna the perfect person to overhear a conversation without detection. What Luna heard horrified her! She needed to warn Harry's family and friends that he was being carted off to Azkaban for attacking that foul toad faced woman that appeared to insult him by something she said. Luna felt a great injustice was done on this day. She would have to inform everyone that was important to Harry of his current situation, as she felt they would want to know.

In Dumbledore's office, Fudge and Dumbledore were having a quick meeting.

"What do we tell the press?" asked Fudge. "What about the girl's parents?"

"I shall tell them their daughter was attacked by Lestrange and Black and suffered overexposure to the Cruciatus Curse from Lestrange," said Dumbledore. "As for the press, Potter is being sent out of the country for his own protection due to the dark threat that escaped to Azkaban."

"So, do not tell them about the boy's trip to Azkaban at all," said Fudge who now wondered why he sent Harry Potter to Azkaban but he would be perceived as a weak within the Ministry if he backed out right now.

Dumbledore looked at Fudge with his blue eyes twinkling. He needed Potter to be respected so when Dumbledore manipulated him into taking out Voldemort, Dumbledore would get twice as much respect for guiding him to victory. Then Dumbledore could make it look like Potter died from expanding too much energy against Voldemort.

"No, not a word, if this gets out, it could be a scandal to ruin my plans for the greater good," said Dumbledore.

"You never did tell me what these plans are, Albus," said Fudge.

"Now, I won't spoil the surprise but I do promise you when everything is all said and done it will be epic," responded Dumbledore with a smirk.

Elsewhere in Dumbledore's office, a beetle was hiding behind Dumbledore's lemon drop dish, listening intently to every word. Rita knew by following Fudge to Hogwarts in her Animagus form she would stumble upon a big juicy story and she had just hit pay dirt. The news story of Harry Potter being sent to Azkaban, apparently in a plan conspired by Fudge and Dumbledore would make Rita rich and famous. She could hardly wait to put the quill to paper to write the story she just stumbled upon. This find would make her career.


	8. Chapter 8: Liberation

**Chapter 08: Liberation**

Dumbledore looked around as something had been brought to his attention. His Animagus detection wards were humming in his ears, which meant there was their Animagus form spying on him. He designed these wards so he can only sense them. He also had wards to detect if people underneath the Polyjuice Potion or were disguised as a Metamorphmagus.

Dumbledore turned to his puppet of a Minister. The Headmaster needed to get rid of him so he could capture his intruder.

"Cornelius, I have some pressing matters to attend to, after Lestrange and Black attacked young Ginny Weasley and tortured her," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eyes. "I know you can find your way out of Hogwarts on your own. "

"Of course, Headmaster," said Fudge, putting his Bowler back on his head and walked out. At any rate, he needed to return to the Ministry promptly to spin this.

His Aurors and Umbridge were waiting outside. It seemed that everyone was waiting for the silencing spell put on Umbridge to wear off naturally than cancel it. Sighing, Fudge raised his wand and pointed it at Umbridge.

"Finite," muttered Fudge as the spell came off of Umbridge.

"How dare that brat attack me!" screamed Umbridge once the spell was lifted. "That filthy little half blood, he's just like his mangy Mudblood mother! I know she went out of her way to make my life hell when she was alive when she worked in the Department of Mysteries. Why if he didn't be put in Azkaban I would..."

Fudge held his hand up. He knew Umbridge, loyal lackey as she was, could not even beat Lockhart in a duel, much less the person who brought down He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

In Dumbledore's office, he found the problem. A certain writer for the Daily Prophet decided to meddle in his plans. Well, that could be averted. Dumbledore waved his wand wordlessly, conjuring a jar.

Rita looked up in horror before the jar slammed over her. She was trapped. Dumbledore flipped the jar over, sealing it shut and equipping it with an unbreakable charm.

"Well, what do we have here," said Dumbledore looking at Rita with a sadistic smile. "I believe it is a rare soon to be extinct species. A one of a kind, Animagus beetle. Did you really think I would allow your poison quill to expose me Rita? I'll dispose of you later, Rita, I have students to address to spin this to make it look like someone else was responsible of these atrocities and not me."

Dumbledore levitated the jar into the air before letting it drop onto a shelf on his office. The Headmaster warded the area around the jar so if anyone but Dumbledore tried to take it off the shelf, they would suffer severe burns to their wand arm, making them unable to hold a wand for a few weeks. The Headmaster grinned before putting those sadistic thoughts out of his mind, as he had some tales to spin. Dumbledore had Weasleys to write to and a school to address.

At Azkaban, Harry Potter was slowly coming to after getting stunned. As Fudge needed to get back to the Ministry, Umbridge appeared to be in charge

"That opinionated Apprentice Auror has been sent back to the Ministry so what should we do with Potter, Madam Umbridge," said one of the Aurors.

"Toss him in a place that is out of the way from visitors," remarked Umbridge sweetly. "I would suggest one of the high security cells, with Dementors swarming around it day and night. Perhaps that will teach the nasty little boy not to attack Ministry Officials."

Harry was tossed into the cell and one of the Aurors waved Harry's wand towards him in front of his face. The wand was out of Harry's reach but they may have taken the wand but Harry still had the Portus-Amulet. Of course, it was a matter of finding a way to activate it without a wand so he could get the hell out of Azkaban before the Dementors drive him nuttier than Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry needed to channel power wandlessly and do it now.

The Dementors swarmed around Harry's cell and Harry's eyes went blank, as that entire night on the roof with the Foot, up until the time Shredder attempted to blow up the building with his family inside replayed in his mind. Then, to add to the fun, the Chamber of Secrets incident with Ginny nearly died followed that up and it seemed worse than it was before when in contact with a few dozen Dementors. Harry wondered how many of these foul things existed and perhaps Harry was going crazy, but he could have swore he just saw a few of the Dementors slowly split in half causing more Dementors than before to exist.

The Dementors continued to torture Harry's every being. They were pleased they could torture the one connected to the person who put them in these weak forms. They could not give him a kiss due to those humans with their primitive form of magic at the Ministry putting them under control with the Eye of Darkness, but they could make his life miserable by forcing him to relive his most horrible memories over and over again.

Harry attempted to fight the evil but there was too many of them to combat with mere mental power. He also relieved what appeared to be the night Voldemort killed both of his parents and several horrific memories during his time to the Dursleys before sinking into a state of unconsciousness due to overexposure to Dementors.

Luna, Hermione, Daphne, and Theodore were walking to the Room of Requirement. By the look on Luna's face, the reason they were going appeared to be very urgent.

"Luna, where are we going, you said this was urgent?" asked Hermione anxiously. "We haven't seen Harry all afternoon and Ginny is not here as well! We overheard Snape and McGonagall talking about how she was transferred to St. Mungos this afternoon. What is going on?"

"All will be explained soon, Hermione," said Luna. "I overheard a confrontation involving Harry, Dumbledore, the Minister of Magic, and some Aurors. Let's just say things got out of control but we need to tell Harry's family as they no doubt want to know."

"Something happened when Ginny went up to Dumbledore's office and Harry confronted Dumbledore over it, didn't he Luna?" asked Theodore.

Luna just opened the door of the lair, leading Hermione, Daphne, and Theodore inside.

Splinter and the Turtles appeared to be setting up for a training session. Master Splinter looked up, seeing the four walking into the room. He had been sensing all afternoon something was off.

"Something has happened, hasn't it, Luna?" prompted Splinter looking rather grim.

"Harry and Ginny are not on Hogwarts grounds anymore," said Hermione as the four turtles and Master Splinter gasped. "Daphne, Theodore, and I don't know much of what happened, until Luna sheds light on it. She apparently overheard something outside the Hospital Wing."

"I just wish we would be meeting for the first time under better circumstances," said Daphne darkly.

"Everyone sit down and promise not to get upset until I have had said everything that I have found out," said Luna calmly.

"No conversation in the history of the world beginning with a phrase like that has ever held good news," muttered Raph dangerously under his breath.

"Okay, Ginny was summoned down to the Headmaster's office earlier today for an urgent matter," explained Luna. "After she left, Harry found her in a state which made it obvious there was a memory block of some sort on her. I don't know what her current condition is right now, but from what I overheard, it will be a few months before she makes a complete recovery. Harry brought her to the hospital wing and then contacted the Minister of Magic. Fudge came down to Hogwarts, Dumbledore attempted to pin the attack on Lestrange and Black. Harry basically implicated Dumbledore was lying; they did a check on Dumbledore's wand which proved to be negative. A foul looking woman said something about Ginny being not important enough to call the office of the Minister of Magic down to Hogwarts. Harry took it badly, put a silencing charm on her. Harry was captured for this and sentenced to three months to Azkaban."

Raph had an angered look on his face. In fact, he was so agitated he could not even speak due to being too angered to form complete words. Master Splinter knew the signs well but Donatello spoke up.

"Dumbledore, he caused my brother to be sent to Azkaban!" yelled Don in an angered voice. "And the Minister of Magic but it had to be Dumbledore who was mostly at fault. This is...this is..."

Don picked up his Bo staff, too angered for words, shaking. He rarely got mad but when he did, it was sometimes worse than Raph on a bad day.

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go bust Harry out!" cried Raph pulling his Sais out. "Right after I go and bust Dumbledore's head open."

"Raphael, we must think this through," ordered Splinter. "As tempting as it would be to wrap my walking stick over Dumbledore's head, don't you think he might be well protected in a case of an attack? He also appears to have the majority of Ministry of Magic in his pocket, which makes him in some respects a more dangerous foe than the Shredder."

"Yes, I would have to agree with that," said Daphne. "We need to make a plan if we want Harry to be freed. Right Hermione?"

Hermione was too angered to speak for a moment but she quickly regained her composure.

"Yes, unfortunately, as tempting as my wish to use Dumbledore as a practice dummy to experiment with some new advanced hexes and curses I've been reading about is, we need to think this through," said Hermione. "Of course, we'll need to get to into the Ministry of Magic to convince Fudge to release Harry."

"I can handle that," said Raph with a sadistic grin. "I can be very persuasive."

"All of the Ministry of Magic entrances are heavily guarded," said Luna knowledgeably. "Except for one. I believe we can get in, but the entrance is underneath the building, through the sewers."

"Piece of cake, as we live in the sewers, that shouldn't be a problem," said Don.

"Luna, it's rather scary how you know all of what you know," said Theodore.

"Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment," replied Luna happily.

"So we need to map out a plan to get into the Minister of Magic's office and persuade him to let Harry out," said Leonardo. "We'll do it over the weekend, as there will likely be less people roaming the hallways and seeing us. We need disguises of course as four giant talking turtles and a rat walking into the Ministry of Magic without being concealed would most likely incite a panic."

"Theodore and I will borrow you some disguises for you guys," said Daphne.

"Yes and Luna and I will help you sneak into the Ministry, as you need silencing spells on the Minister's office door when you go," said Hermione.

"What about Dumbledore?" demanded Raph, his fingers twitching around his Sais.

"Leave him to me," said Mikey with a mischievous smirk on his face. "I'll make him rue the day he put Harry in that place. I have a few ideas more creative then ripping his internal organs out through his nose by ramming your Sai so far down there. Let's just say he likes manipulating people, so I am going to give him a taste of his own medicine by manipulating him into spending several quality hours in the bathroom."

"I don't want to even know," said Don to Leo who shook his head.

"Good luck, my son, but do not be seen," said Splinter to Michelangelo.

"Hmm, Master Splinter must be ticked at Dumbledore, as he did not put the kibosh on Mikey's little plan for vengeance," whispered Don.

On Saturday, Dumbledore was at his desk. He felt his plans went well, Potter was indisposed, no one suspected any wrong doing from him, and he sent Rita on her way. She would never write another article again after what Dumbledore did to her. Let's just say there was some giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest who were a bit hungry and Dumbledore might have accidentally dropped the beetle in their web before wandering off.

Dumbledore heard a sound outside of his office. He pulled out his wand, ready for action before opening his door. Resting on the arms of the gargoyle appeared to be a box of some sort. Dumbledore waved his wand, doing a series of complex charms but found nothing magically wrong with the contents. Eagerly, Dumbledore opened the box, to reveal two-dozen brownies.

Dumbledore took his new found treats into his office, to eat them. After all, he was not one to let food to go to waste, especially chocolate. He felt there could be nothing wrong with these things either, as no potions had been put into them or curses.

A figure in an orange hooded robe, with his face obscured by an orange scarf snickered from the shadows along with wearing black gloves and white boots. The manipulative old fool fell for his trick. Walking off, whistling, Michelangelo hoped Dumbledore enjoyed the secret ingredient he put in the brownies, as it would keep him in the bathroom for many hours. Next time Dumbledore pulled something like that, Mikey would send Raph in to do the job. Something told Mikey, Raph would not be as nice about it.

Mikey snuck off to join his brothers, Master Splinter, Luna, and Hermione.

"The package has been delivered," said Mikey, trying to keep himself quiet.

"Good, now we can get on with the fun part," said Raph cracking his knuckles. "Making the Minister of Magic squirm until he caves in to our demands."

"Let's go and stay alert," said Leo as everyone walked off ready for action.

The nearest entrance to the sewers from Hogwarts was right underneath the bleachers on the Quidditch Pitch. It took quite a bit of time to slip underneath, as Flint was putting the Slytherin Team through one of his torturous training sessions.

The trip from Hogwarts to the Ministry took several hours, but eventually the destination was reached.

"Up there," said Luna, pointing to a ladder.

They climbed up before reaching a vent. They yanked it open, revealing they appeared to be in a broom closet of some sort.

"An unguarded entrance through a broom closet, extremely lovely," said Raph. "I wonder why more people don't know about this entrance."

"Actually, I believe it's because the people working here have forgotten it even existed," inputted Luna.

Don went for the doorknob, yanking at it but it refused to open.

"Bit of a problem here, as it seems like we are stuck," said Don.

Hermione raised her wand in the air, towards the keyhole.

"Alohomora," muttered Hermione as the door clicked open.

The Four Turtles, Splinter, Hermione, and Luna walked out.

"Okay, should I be worried that the Ministry of Magic corridors are completely deserted," said Mikey.

Don and Leo gave him looks but Luna decided to say something before anyone came.

"The Minister's office is at the end of this corridor," said Luna.

They walked down the corridor but there was trouble in the form of three Aurors standing guard outside of the Minister's office.

"No doubt they are there for his protection due to Black and Lestrange," muttered Don while attempting to calculate a plan to get past the security.

"This does complicate things a little," said Hermione. "So what do you think we should do now?"

"We take out them out, that's what!" answered Raph pulling out his Sais, ready for action.

"Take out Aurors, are you crazy!" whispered Hermione in an exasperated voice. "They are the elite, the best trained in the Minister of Magic. They are trained to take out the most dangerous, skilled dark wizards."

Before Hermione could get out the rest of that word, the four Turtles were gone.

The Aurors looking up heard something behind them. Looking around, they raised their wands.

"Lights out," said a voice as a Bo staff clubbed one of the Aurors in the back of the head.

The Second Auror got whacked in the back with a pair of nunchucks while the third got hit with a kick, which sent him flying into the wall.

"That was easy," said Don in disbelief that the so-called elite of the Ministry of Magic went down so fast.

"A little too easy," said Leo. "We need to do this quickly, as more may be on the way."

In the Minister of Magic's office in a desk beside a glass class with a black crystal with white smoke circling around it, Fudge was working on a proposal to put more restrictions on werewolves, as there had been a few Werewolf attacks over the last couple of months, mostly by Greyback who attacked a Muggle Orphanage last month, killing several children while turning a few. Muggle werewolves were always a pain to deal with and Fudge hoped to stop the latest Werewolf outbreak with this new piece of legislation. Under this bill, Werewolves would be able to work select jobs that no other witches or wizards were willing to work and they must pay eighty percent of their earnings to the Ministry as a tax. Umbridge supported this bill one hundred percent, as did Lucius Malfoy; both in Fudge's mind were two upstanding citizens of the Magical World.

"You are to let Harry Potter out of Azkaban or face the consequences," said a voice.

Fudge looked up, wondering briefly if he needed a vacation as he had been working too hard. He saw five robed figures with hoods and scarves. The hooded robes and scarves were different colors as one wore red, another blue, a third purple, the fourth orange, and the fifth brown. They all appeared to be wearing black gloves and white boots as well.

"On what grounds?" asked Fudge, reaching for his jar of Floo Powder.

The purple robed figure pulled out what Fudge recognized to be a Bo staff and smashed his jar of Floo powder to bits.

"You'll release him or face our wrath," said a figure in red who pulled out a pair of Sais.

Fudge raised his wand to signal for help or attack them but his wand was pulled out of his hand by a pair of nunchucks from the orange robed figure.

"We are not fooling around, Fudge, either you release him or you will suffer a similar fate as your three guards," said the orange robed figure. "They thought they could take us but they found out the hard way."

Fudge screamed, hoping someone could hear him but no one did. The brown robed figure put a walking stick under Fudge's chin.

"Promise you'll release Harry, right now," said the brown robed figure. "Promise it, on your magic."

"I won't release Potter, he assaulted a member of my staff!" yelled Fudge, placing his bowler hat on his head before turning back to the orange robed figure. "I would suggest you give me my wand back and I might make your Azkaban sentence a little shorter when I have you arrested."

"I don't think so, Fudge," said the orange robed figure.

The blue robed figure pulled out a pair of katanas, aiming them towards Fudge's head.

"You leave me little choice, Minister," said the mysterious person clad in blue.

Fudge closed his eyes as he heard a slicing motion. He opened them to reveal his precious lime green bowler hat had been sliced into pieces before sliding off of his head. Fudge got up, attempting to run but he found himself held back by a Sai and a Bo staff respectively. The Bo staff became tucked under his chin as two Sais, two Katanas, nunchucks, and a walking stick was aimed at his head.

"Swear it or I will have to stab your eyes out," said the red robed figure dangerously waving the Sai carelessly in the air a few inches from Fudge's eye. Somehow Fudge felt this psycho would follow through on his threats so he whimpered before giving in.

"Fine, Potter will be released tonight, I swear it on my magic," said Fudge.

Fudge realized he needed to do as these people said as he did not want to lose his magic but the least he could do was lock them in Azkaban for their threats to his office. Dumbledore was not going to like this.

"I knew you would see it our way," said the red robed figure as they five left his office, the orange robed figure throwing Fudge's wand over his shoulder as an afterthought.

Fudge grinned, scooping up a handful of Floo powder before tossing it in his fire and pointing at it with his wand.

"All Aurors and Hit Wizards are to come up to the corridor in the area of my office right now," commanded Fudge. "Security has been breached. This is not a drill, repeat this is not a drill."

The Turtles, Hermione, and Luna walked away from Fudge's office, filling them in on what happened.

"So he'll be getting out tonight," said Hermione.

"Goes to show you, violence is always the answer," said Luna happily.

"That was a bit too easy," said Leo.

Raph stopped, looking at the serious sight that greeted them.

"Way to jinx us, Leonardo," said Raph sarcastically as he spotted spotting what was coming.

Two Hundred wands were pointing at Luna, Hermione, the Turtles, and Master Splinter. They were surrounded from all directions, with no way to escape.


	9. Chapter 9: Operation: Shell Storm

**Chapter 09: Operation: Shell Storm**

The Hit Wizards and the Aurors surrounded the eight individuals who entered the Ministry of Magic undetected. They did not understand how this was done, as all there entrances were

Rufus Scrimgeour, the head of the Auror Office of the Ministry of Magic looked at the attackers. All of his Aurors were present, with the exception of those at Apprentice and Trainee level, as they would no doubt bungle the entire operation due to inexperience.

"You eight," said Scrimgeour in a commanding voice to the eight attackers while raising his wand. "Hands in the air, wands where I can see them and drop any concealed weapons you may be holding on your person."

"Oh yeah, well take this!" challenged the figure in the red robe throwing a Sai which knocked Scrimgeour's wand out of his hand, pinning it against the wall.

"Neutralize them and bring them to Azkaban, at all costs," ordered Scrimgeour. "And someone get me my bloody wand off that wall!"

Leo looked at all the wands pointing at him. It seemed rather interesting to him that all these Aurors and Hit Wizards could have been out searching for Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius Black instead of being able to come up to the corridor by the Minister of Magic's office not even a minute after they left it.

"Everyone, on your toes," commanded Leo. "This could get ugly."

A barrage of red jets of light flew in their direction and the Turtles, Splinter, Luna, and Hermione hat to hit the ground to avoid being hit.

"Could?" asked Don in an exasperated voice before sweeping three of his attackers to the ground with a well placed Bo Staff shot.

Mikey came up and down from the air swinging his nunchucks and two of the Aurors shot stunners at him but he dodged out of the way. Both Aurors hit the ground, each being hit by their own stunner.

"Incarerous," screamed one of the Aurors, sending thick ropes shooting out of his wand and wrapping around Don's Bo staff. Leo leapt up to cut the ropes with his Katanas.

"Accio Swords," said a female Auror as Leo's Katanas were pulled from his hands.

Thankfully, Leo had a counter measure for it, tossing a shruiken at his swords, causing them to be knocked out of the woman's hand. Leo rolled into action, grabbing his swords and leaped up, slicing a section of the ceiling, before it fell off onto three of the Aurors, trapping them underneath.

Luna and Hermione had slipped off at this point; they needed to borrow a Portkey or something to quickly get out of here. They just hoped the Turtles and Master Splinter could hold off all these Wizards and Witches for long.

Six Hit Wizards surrounded Master Splinter. They leapt in to neutralize him but he leaped into the air, knocking three back with a swift swing with his walking stick before leaping up and knocking two more back with a split kick. The third fired a jet of red light at him but Splinter, showing agility much better than some half of his aged, moved out of the way before knocking the Hit Wizard out with an uppercut to the chin.

Don swung his Bo Staff into the air but a jet of red light blasted the end of it off. As a result of this action Don shrugged, leaping into the air ready for the attack but one of the Aurors was ready for him.

"Petrificus Totalus!" cried one of the Aurors.

The spell struck Don, snapping his legs and arms together.

"Donatello!" screamed Raph and Mikey together but they found wands pointing at them from all directions. They engaged their attackers in combat, barely managing to hold them back.

One of the Female Aurors eagerly walked up, pulling the hood off. The sight she saw freaked her out. She screamed out loud.

"Martian Invaders!" screamed the female Auror in horror, losing her composure completely.

"You idiot," hissed the Auror Dawlish. "These attackers are obviously Dark Wizards wearing giant frog costumes."

Dawlish muttered something about "female Aurors," before getting whacked in the back by a pair of nunchucks, falling down flat on his face.

"More lethal force is authorized in the name of subduing these who have infiltrated the Ministry," said Scrimgeour, who was just talking in a two-way mirror. "Word has come down from the office of Madam Umbridge, approved by Cornelius Fudge. The Unforgiveables have been authorized as well for this mission and for this mission only."

One of the Aurors looked up to the blue robed figure who had just sliced one of his comrades in the back with a Katana. There was a gurgling sound before he fell to the ground, unmoving.

"So they want to use lethal force huh," said Leo. "Well, we can do that too."

"I agree with Leonardo," said Splinter, who was guarding Donatello's incapacitated form. "Lethal force if you must but only as a defense."

"Crucio," screamed the Auror, striking Splinter in the back with the deadly spell. Splinter screamed in pain before Raph struck the Auror with a kick so hard in the face his jaw became dislocated.

"Avada Kedavra," screamed a Hit Wizard pointing his wand at Leonardo. Leo's eyes went wide before hitting the ground. Harry told him about this curse, he read up on it in the Slytherin Library. It was the killing curse and used by Lord Voldemort. The curse blasted a hole through the wall when it hit.

Luna and Hermione were in the Emergency Portkey storeroom. Hermione looked shocked that she managed to open the door.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder about the security of the Ministry of Magic," said Hermione. "We were able to get into a room containing highly regulated magical objects with a simple unlocking charm."

"Well, Daddy's always said the Ministry of Magic has been run by people who have the ability of monkeys getting high," said Luna as if this was common knowledge.

Hermione giggled against her will. Luna's father was not far off, especially after what she saw today. Hermione gave her head a shake; she needed to stay on task.

"We need to find a Portkey to Hogwarts and now," said Hermione. "We don't have much time."

"Hem, Hem," said a sickly sweet voice that made Hermione cringe. "Less time you think."

One of the Aurors stood toe to toe with Raph. He shot a jet of red light but Raph flipped over his back. He turned around and Raph grabbed his head, before snapping it back.

Two of the Aurors had Mikey cornered and Raph rolled into action. Pulling his Sai out of the wall that he had pinned that wand to earlier, he tossed his Sais, pinning one of the Aurors against the wall. Raph struck the trapped Auror in the face with both of his feet. Mikey came down from high above, bringing both nunchucks down onto the head of the second Auror. The Auror dropped down to the ground hard from the impact.

Four Hit Wizards surrounded Leo, wands pointed at him. He raised his Katanas into the air, ready for action.

"Reducto," said two of the Hit Wizards, blasting both of Leo's swords into bits.

"My swords!" cried Leo in anguish before leaping up, kicking the two offenders in the face with a split kick.

Two of the Hit Wizards shot chains with shackles at Leonardo. He had to leap out of the way to avoid being shackled before grabbing both of the Hit Wizards, hoisting them up into the air, tossing them into a group of Aurors which had surrounded Raph and Mikey.

"Spiculum!" cried one of the Hit Wizards, sending a dozen arrows flying through the air at Raph and Mikey. They barely managed to throw themselves on the ground, as the arrows impaled a few Aurors in the back, who managed to be unlucky enough to be behind them in the head of the battle.

"I don't know how much longer we can hold these guys off," said Mikey, wrapping his nunchucks around the wand of one of the Aurors who had the mentioned wand pointed at his throat before kicking him in the stomach.

"Hopefully those two will be finding us a quick way out soon," said Leo, stabbing the wand of one of the people who have fallen in battle into the right leg of yet another Auror before kicking him in the face.

A foul woman who resembled a toad had her wand raised in the air, pointing at Hermione and Luna. Hermione was glad that if they got out of this, this could not be pinned on them due to their faces being concealed. Also, they left Daphne and Theodore up at Hogwarts to concoct as Alibi for them, just in case. Still this foul toad faced woman had them cornered. It was going to take a bit of creative thinking to get out of here with a Portkey.

"The Minister will be very pleased to find me catching two of the people who broke in the Ministry tonight," said Umbridge with a smile so sadistic on her face that it may be able to make Voldemort cringe. She raised her wand into the air.

"Expelliarmus," said Luna calmly, causing Umbridge's wand to be pulled out of her hand.

"You foul girl, give me my wand back!" shrieked Umbridge like a banshee.

"Wingardium Leviosa," said Hermione, pointing her wand at Umbridge's feet, levitating her about ten feet in the air before canceling the spell. Umbridge fell down with a thud, crashing on the back of her head. This act knocked her out.

Hermione looked surprised that actually worked but when she bent down, she saw something poking out of one of the pockets on the woman's robes. Something that she saw so many times that she would recognize anywhere.

"Harry's wand," gasped Hermione.

"I think we should be taking that back," said Luna, pulling Harry's wand nonchalantly out of Umbridge's pocket before stepping on top of her face, towards the door.

Hermione looked up, hearing a sound of people outside. She grabbed a Portkey off the shelf marked "H" location Portkeys.

"I just hope this is the right one," said Hermione.

Luna nodded as the two girls scurried off. They hoped the Turtles and Master Splinter were still holding their own in battle. Those Aurors and Hit Wizards could pack a wallop with some of the spells they used.

The Aurors had Leo cornered and Raph and Mikey were barely avoiding getting hit with stunning spells and a couple of attempted killing curses were thrown in. Splinter was still guarding an immobilized Donatello, whacking an odd Auror or hit Wizard with his walking stick as they came over his direction.

"Everyone over here!" yelled Hermione, holding up the Portkey that they borrowed from the storeroom.

"Raph, Mikey, we're checking out," said Leo, leaping at two of the Aurors, knocking them into the others with a pair of kicks.

Mikey slid to his back, kicking the Aurors and Hit Wizards in front of him back, before helping Master Splinter picking up an immobilized Donatello. Luna muttered the counter charm as Don, Mikey, Leo, and Splinter joined Luna and Hermione.

"Ah, much better," said Don, before whacking a Hit Wizard in the face with an uppercut punch that attempted to attack him again, breaking his nose.

"Raphael, quick fooling around and get over here!" yelled Leo in an agitated voice.

Fudge walked out of his office, looking rather irritated.

"You have not subdued them yet," said Fudge. "Attack them, full force, anything you can think of. Don't let them..."

Raph leaped into the air, kicking Fudge in the back of the head before joining the others. Hermione pulled out her wand, tapping it to the Portkey, activating it. With a jerk, everyone was pulled out of the Ministry of Magic.

"They've escaped," said Scrimgeour in an exasperated voice.

"Damnit!" yelled Fudge, stomping his feet on the ground in anger before going into his office to stew in his own defeat.

The Turtles, Splinter, Luna, and Hermione fell on the ground. Leonardo reflected on what happened so far, he had no doubt in his mind that they only managed to win due to their ninjitsu skills and the fact that most Magical kind were ignorant of Muggle fighting techniques.

Leo looked around. They were in a dank, dark cell. Mist filled the air and there was a chilly feeling in the air. Something told Leo that this was not where they were supposed to be but Mikey voiced exactly what Leonardo was thinking first.

"This isn't Hogwarts," said Mikey feeling a bit creeped out at the whole misty, creepy feeling that this new place was giving off.

"No duh, Mikey," said Raph sarcastically.

Hermione felt something was not quite right. She grabbed the wrong Portkey apparently but she did not know where they were. She jumped she heard something behind her, moaning. She turned around and the sight that greeted her would give her nightmares for months. Harry was lying on the ground underneath a ragged old cot attached to the wall. His eyes had a blank lifeless look and his face was extremely pale, completely devoid of life. It also looked like Harry had not ate since he was put here a few days ago.

"Harry," muttered Hermione in horror. Everyone else turned around and saw they managed to get Portkeyed into Harry's cell in Azkaban.

"Harry, Harry, can you hear us!" called Raph in a horrified voice.

Splinter felt the fur stand up on the back of his neck. Something bad was coming. Something not good at all. All of the sudden, he fell to his knees, visions of the night his beloved Master, Hamato Yoshi, was slayed by the Shredder and his Foot Ninja replaying through the wise old rodent's head.

The Turtles, Luna, and Hermione all became weakened due to the effects of the Dementors along with Splinter. Luna and Splinter were the two affected the worst by the Dementors. Splinter due to seeing Master Yoshi murdered by the Shredder and Luna due to seeing her mother die when one of her experimental spells backfired on her.

Don looked up, looking horrified at the black robed figures, with scaly hands gliding around in circles outside the cell. They appeared to be taunting them, with a rattling sound that appeared to be some kind of demonic laugh.

"Those things...horrid," muttered Don.

"Can you see them?" asked Hermione in a whisper. "Muggles are not supposed to be able to see them."

"Of course we can see them, although I wish we couldn't," said Leo who was attempting to use his mental focus to fight off the memories of the Dementors but they started to overwhelm him, shredding his focus bit by bit.

"I wonder if the ooze that mutated us had some sort of strange properties to make us see them," whispered Don in a weak voice.

Harry looked up from underneath the cot. He had attempted to shield himself on the ground, but the attacks by these vile creatures kept coming and now for some reason his family along with Luna and Hermione were in the cell with him. Perhaps he may be going insane but if this was any chance this was real, Harry wanted to get them out of here now. Harry pulled out his Portus-Amulet, once again attempting to charge it somehow wandlessly but he hit a barrier when he attempted to draw a certain amount of his magical power. Something powerful was preventing him from using his full scope of magic.

Hermione was starting to slowly sink but she saw Harry had the Portus Amulet out. She rolled Harry's wand over to him. They needed to get out of this cell right now. Hermione wondered what it was like to be around this hell for twenty-four hours a day and she shuddered as she had been severely weakened after less than five minutes in this environment.

"Everyone, grab onto the Amulet," rasped Harry in a low voice, as he could barely could talk.

Splinter and Luna were too weak from the effects of the Dementors so Raph and Mikey grabbed Luna while Don and Leo grabbed Splinter, pulling them over. They all collapsed but managed, along with Hermione, to grab onto Harry as Harry tapped his wand to the Amulet, pulling everyone out of the Azkaban cell.

The Dementors were enraged beyond all belief. Their favorite target was gone from Azkaban. He gave off so many powerful horrific memories that they managed to breed at least four times more than the number that they have had in Azkaban before. They would gain their revenge, as their brothers at Hogwarts could finish the job they started should this mortal get too close to them. He could not take too much more of their exposure.

Everyone managed to get back to the Room of Requirement. Harry was lying on his side, a shadowed look on his face equipped with a blank look in his eyes before passing out.

"He may have been overexposed to the Dementors," said Hermione weakly. "I read that could happen to Prisoners in that horrid place when many horrific memories happened in the past."

"Damn Dursleys, damn Dumbledore, damn Shredder, damn Fudge," cursed Raph. "Anyone else I can blame right now."

"Voldemort," supplied Mikey helpfully.

"Damn him too!" snapped Raph. "They're the reason why my brother is in this state."

Raph attempted to punch a wall in frustration but he was wobbly due to the effects of the Dementors. Chocolate materialized in the Room of Requirement.

"Okay, what's with the chocolate?" inquired Leo in a weak hollow voice as he helped Harry up on a couch and pulled a blanket over him.

"It's supposed to help with the effects of Dementors, that's what Professor Lupin told us on the train," said Hermione.

"Is there anything chocolate can't do?" asked Mikey approvingly. "Especially on a pizza, which would be nice right now, but this wacky room is not playing ball."

"If wasn't so weak from those blasted Dementors, I'd smack you Mikey," said Raph in an agitated voice. "We know you're upset about the pizza thing, you've been going on it ever since we got here. Give it a rest."

Everyone ate chocolate, attempting to recover from effects of the foul beasts known as Dementors. From all appearances, it would take several days before Harry could shake off the effects due to the overexposure he suffered from the Dementors. Everyone just wondered what kind of mental state Harry would be once he awakened from his Dementor inspired condition.


	10. Chapter 10: Reflections Mirror the Futur

**Chapter Ten: Reflections Mirror the Future**

Sirius had finally made it to his destination, just outside of Hogsmeade. The journey from Azkaban had been long, with many difficulties despite being in his Animagus form. He had to make a quick stop to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place to pick up a spare wand to use. No doubt the Ministry had snapped his old wand. If he could somehow get to Gringotts to access his vault, he could purchase a more suitable replacement, even if this replacement was purchased on the black market, deep within the shadows of Knockturn Alley. Sirius had no doubt in his mind that he was being hunt down like a dog by the Ministry of Magic. If they were smart, the Ministry would have Aurors scouring every place imaginable for Black. At least, that is what Sirius would do if he was the Minister and had to track down a fugitive.

During his visit to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, Sirius was very displeased to find that foul house elf Kreacher still existed. He seemed to have gotten worse over the years and Sirius pretty much deduced why. The foul little thing had been taking orders from a ranting and raving portrait of Sirius's dear dead mother. Sirius knew hearing that vile shriek all day over and over would drive him to a state of insanity. Kreacher now appeared to be in a state of madness that was only slightly beneath Bellatrix.

Something that perplexed Sirius was he could have sworn that Harry would be put at the Dursleys despite Lily throwing a ballistic fit when Dumbledore suggested it when her and James were still alive should they ever die. When he visited Privet Drive in late July, there seemed to be no sign that Harry lived at the Dursleys' place of residence. Sirius feared the worst and he felt a bit of mistrust towards Dumbledore due to this happening. Dumbledore was not exactly on Sirius's good list right at the moment due to Dumbledore not doing anything to get Sirius a trial before he was thrown in that hellhole.

Still, Sirius felt he would confirm Harry's status when he went up to the school, to Gryffindor tower in an attempt to kill Pettigrew. Sirius believed that if Harry were still alive, he would be a Gryffindor.

One thing Sirius knew for sure is he would commit the crime that threw him in Azkaban in the first place. Pettigrew would suffer just like he suffered in those twelve years in Azkaban.

If Sirius would be honest enough to admit so, he would know he was more of a Black than he cared to believe.

**Harry was in an abandoned warehouse. Foot Ninjas surrounded him from all sides. He tried to battle them back, but every time he hit one, they seemed to split in two like the Dementors did before his eyes like they did to Azkaban. **

**Harry looked desperately as his family and friends were at the mercy of hooded figure with a high cold laugh, with red catlike slits from eyes and a gaunt chalklike face coming underneath his robe. **

**"Help us, Harry!" screamed the voices of those Harry could see but not quite reach do to his own skills, which he failed were rapidly degenerating. He failed to save them, like he always failed. **

**The Foot Ninjas vanished replaced by the Shredder's Elite Guard, Hun, The Shredder, and Baxter Stockman, wielding a remote control device. Stockman twisted a knob on his control device and at least a thousand Mouser robots came into focus, chewing away at the foundation of the building, causing heavy pieces of concrete and metal coming down, crushing Harry's friends and family, but seeming to miss Harry. Harry ran towards the Elite Guard but they teleported away. The Shredder punched Harry, knocking him onto back and Hun pulled a piece of pipe, whacking Harry in the ribs just as he got up, causing him to hit the ground again. No matter what Harry tried, he could not fight back. **

**Harry looked as smoke swirled, replacing the scene of the Chamber of Secrets. Ginny was lying motionless on the Chamber floor, with the form of Riddle, laughing evilly and calling the Basilisk forward. Harry prepared to engage the Basilisk but he froze in his tracks. The Basilisk divided into fourths, surrounding Harry, moving in for the kill. Harry found himself surrounded by four Basilisks. **

**In a flash, Harry felt himself miniaturized and trapped inside a cage, in the palm of someone's hand. He looked up, and he was staring directly at the twinkle of evil. **

**"Trapped, Harry," said Dumbledore in a false grandfatherly tone with a twinkle in his eye. "Sealed inside, just like the majority of your magical powers." **

**Dumbledore morphed into the Shredder who crushed the cage with the miniature version of Harry in his metal-gloved hands, his eyes glowing red, laughing evilly but stopping before he crossed Harry. **

**"Failure Potter," hissed a cold voice belonging to Voldemort. "You'll fall to the power of Lord Voldemort. The world will be entombed in the darkness and the fault of this occurance shall be all yours. **

**"No more, no more," whispered Harry.**

"No more!" screamed Harry, sitting up abruptly out of bed. Last thing he remembered, he was leaving Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts class then there was nothing. He seemed to be missing a long stretch of memories, although it seemed like he had been out for a very long time.

"Hey, everyone, Harry's finally up," remarked the voice of Leo.

Splinter walked over, leaning on his walking.

"My son, it is good to finally see you awake," remarked Splinter. "I must say I was getting quiet worried, it has been a long six weeks since you passed out."

"Six weeks!" cried Harry wincing, at the pain in his ribs for yelling so much. "I can't guess what happened that caused me to pass out for six weeks."

"You were in Azkaban, bro," said Raph in a grim voice.

Something clicked in Harry's mind. The missing section of memories from when Harry during the time he left Professor Lupin's class until the time he passed out came out. Harry's eyes went wide and he appeared to be attempting to vainly fight to urge to start screaming.

"Uh, Harry," said Mikey.

"Excuse me for a minute," said Harry calmly although he was shaking. "The Room of Requirement needs to help me burn off some anger, before I go and kill the people responsible for what has happened recently."

A sword appeared suddenly in Harry's hands as he sprang up to his feet. On the floor, a dozen glass statues appeared. Four of them resembled Fudge, the next four resembled Umbridge, and the final four resembled Dumbledore.

Harry raised the sword into the air, before angrily lashing out, decapitating one of the Dumbledore statues with a violent swing of the sword. The only regret Harry had was it was not the real live manipulative old fool. Harry then raised the sword in the air and stabbed it through one of the Umbridge glass statues before pulling it out and stabbing one of the Fudge statues in the throat.

"Whoa," gasped Don, his eyes going wide at the anger exhibited by Harry.

Harry swung his sword, splitting one of the Dumbledore statues in half. He tossed the sword, impaling one of the Fudge statues in the stomach with it before yanking it out and leaping up, slicing one of the Umbridge statues into pieces. He swung around in a circle with the sword, chopping the remaining six statues into pieces with several quick swipes. Harry looked down at the broken pieces of glass and willed the room to vanish the mess.

"I trust you feel better after that little...exhibition, Harry," said Splinter looking a bit horrified at Harry's borderline sadistic behavior right there.

"No, I don't but it was worth a bloody try," said Harry in a dark voice.

"Harry, that was just..." said Leo before trailing off.

"Dumbledore is going to rue the day he was born," said Harry in a bit of an angered voice. "What he did to Ginny was inexcusable! As for Fudge and his pet toad, I'll deal with them soon enough! As soon as I think of something that is a fitting enough punishment for them sentencing me to that vile and desolate place."

"Harry, I'm almost afraid to ask but what are you planning on to do to Dumbledore right now," said Don, choosing his words carefully.

"I am going to challenge that old bastard to a duel to the death," said Harry his green eyes blazing with fury. "He attempted to use me time and time again. This time he will pay and the price will be his life. He will..."

"Harry, that is sufficient," said Splinter sternly. "I understand your anger but you cannot take rash actions like that. Dumbledore would crush you in his hand if you tried to fight him right now. You are not currently at his level of power although perhaps there will be a day you may be. Until then, you must sit back and simply wait for an opportunity to present itself that you can remove Dumbledore from this school by legal means."

"I suppose you're right Sensei," said Harry a bit deflated, but still shaking. "Dumbledore deserves some form of retribution and I do not have the power. It feels like I should be more powerful, especially when I tried to activate my Portus Amulet wandlessly..."

Harry stopped; something in his nightmare had come back to him. When Dumbledore held him in his hand in a cage, Dumbledore remarked that Harry was locked away, sealed from the rest of the world just like his magical power. No, not even Dumbledore could be so cruel...

"Harry, are you okay?" asked Mikey in a concerned voice.

"I seen my homework has been brought by," said Harry in an attempt to steer the conversation away from his paranoid delusions

"Yeah, Hermione made sure she collected all of your homework, even when it looked like you were going to spend a few months in Azkaban," said Raph. "You should make a good start on what you missed as its Friday night."

"Trust Hermione to remember to keep me up to date on my schoolwork," said Harry, looking through the pages of extensive notes Hermione gave him. It appeared as if the girl transcribed all the teachers' lectures for him.

"So, since you're awake, what's the plan for going to Hogwarts?" asked Leo.

"I'm going to walk into the Great Hall Monday morning as if nothing at all was different," replied Harry calmly.

"Dumbledore won't like that," remarked Don.

"Well, I'm all for making Dumbledore's day a little more difficult after all he did to me," said Harry. "I bet he probably expected me to walk up to him and stick my wand right in that infernal twinkle of his the next time I saw him. I'm going to be very Slytherin about this, cutting him off at the knees when he least expects it."

Harry began work on his homework, some of it quiet interesting, some if, such as History of Magic, dull as watching paint dry. He hoped to make some headway on this but dark thoughts plagued his mind when it was not focused on catching up on schoolwork. Ginny laid injured at St. Mungos from what his brothers told him, and they did not know quiet when she would recover. Harry tried to cast it out of his memory but he could not. He remembered the blank lifeless look in Ginny's eyes when he found her outside Dumbledore's office. That lifeless look haunted Harry's dreams, in addition to the usual dreams involving Shredder and the Foot. Harry believed these dreams would not die until the Shredder did and Harry wondered if he would live to see that day.

Monday Morning, Harry walked down from the Room of Requirement, walking through the hallway, looking rather happy. Many wore looks of shock at Harry not being there. Harry pretended nothing at all was the matter, continuing his walk towards the Great Hall.

Dumbledore was sitting at the High Table, enjoying his coffee. He gazed out a nearby window. The weather looked lovely outside. The Headmaster felt nothing at all could go wrong, not on a day like this. None of his carefully laid plans could possibly be fouled up today. Potter was still entombed in Azkaban to his best knowledge, after all, Fudge had not told him any differently so Dumbledore would just assume. The Weasley girl was not going to recover until at least mid December, and would probably not remember anything from the day she fell underneath her condition. Dumbledore had a cheerful twinkle in his eyes; nothing could put a damper on his day.

"Good morning everyone," said a cheerful voice.

Dumbledore looked up and saw something that made him spit out his coffee in surprise all over the high table. Harry Potter walked into the Great Hall as if nothing at all was the matter. Dumbledore knew it had not been six weeks but he could not confront Potter without showing his cards so he wisely said nothing.

Dumbledore felt like an idiot, Potter was up and about. One of his plans went into shattered into bits.

"Harry, you're back," said Daphne in an amazed voice.

"I wasn't aware I was gone," said Harry before adding in a low voice. "I'll explain later."

Harry looked around, there seemed to be someone missing.

"Where's Hermione?" asked Harry, looking around for his other friend.

"Two words for you, Draco Malfoy," said Theodore. "He decided since you weren't around, he got her banned from the Slytherin table. He seems to be a lot more confident when you are not here."

"I'll take care of Malfoy later," said Harry with a glint in his eyes that made Theodore and Daphne shiver slightly. "What's been going on since my sabbatical?"

"More of the same, the Ministry of Magic is no closer to catching Black and Lestrange than they were six weeks ago," said Theodore, shaking his head.

"The Ministry of Magic couldn't even catch a cold at their current state of incompetence," said Daphne.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle came in right now. Malfoy stopped, seeing Harry. Malfoy's knees gave out from underneath him, not being able to see what he thought he saw. Obediently, Crabbe and Goyle caught Malfoy.

"Hands off me!" snapped Malfoy. "Potter, I thought you were gone for good."

"Funny, that thought seems to be running rampant quiet a few places," said Harry before switching to his quiet spooky tone of voice. "Now what's this I hear about you not letting Hermione sit at this table with her friends."

"I had to put up with that vile Mudblood for too long," said Draco. "She is a stain on Wizarding kind and she should be St Mungos lifeless just like that Weasley trollop. It was..."

Malfoy did not finish that sentence as Harry wrapped his hands around Malfoy's throat, choking him. Malfoy was going to pay for his remarks, especially the one about Ginny. Harry pulled Malfoy over the table, so they were face to face. Malfoy looked terrified at the look Harry was giving him. Harry released one of his hands from Malfoy's throat, before picking up a fork, putting it an inch away from Malfoy's eyes.

"Give me a reason, Malfoy and I swear I'll kill you right now," said Harry in a low dangerous voice.

Malfoy just whimpered in terror as Harry raised the fork. Crabbe and Goyle made a move to attack Harry but a deadly glare from Harry caused Crabbe and Goyle to back off. For the first time ever, Crabbe and Goyle made a semi intelligent move.

"You don't have the guts, Potter," whispered Malfoy. "My father will have you expelled if you harm me in any way."

"Your father will be joining you if he tries anything with me," said Harry. "As for having guts, we'll find out if you have any once I rip you open with this fork."

"Harry Potter!" screamed a voice. "Let him go this instant."

Harry turned his head, seeing McGonagall who was looking rather terrified at Harry's behavior.

"One week of detention, Potter, for your attack on another student," said McGonagall shakily as if she was expecting Harry to attack her as well.

"Better make it two weeks, Professor," said Harry coolly as he bounced Malfoy's head off the table. Malfoy slumped down, bleeding from the impact.

"Take him to the Hospital Wing," said McGonagall to Crabbe and Goyle.

It took Harry a few minutes to realize how close he just came to killing someone out of anger. It wasn't like it was Shredder, Voldemort, or even Dumbledore that he tried to attack. It was a fellow Hogwarts student, his own age.

"What have I done?" whispered Harry in a horrified tone of voice.

"Harry, it's Malfoy's fault," said Daphne although there was something rather shaky about her voice.

"Yeah Harry, he should learn how to keep his mouth shut," said Theodore in a hollow voice.

Harry looked up, he knew there words were true, but they did not convince him completely. They just seemed like words without much conviction.

Harry realized what the problem was quickly enough. She was not here and as long as she wasn't, a piece of him was missing. Ginny could always make him feel like it wasn't his fault when she talked to him. She managed to pull him out of his depressed state out of the battle with the Shredder. The dreams still haunted him but his own doubts about his own ability began to come back. This time, she was not there to make him feel better. His family and other friends could only do so much.

Harry wanted his friend back, but he knew it would be quite some time before she recovered, if she ever did. A dark long road seemed ahead for Harry and he always knew how much of a great friend Ginny was, but he did not know the full extent of until now. He needed her back, or he may fall into a worse state than he did during the summer following the defeat from the Shredder.

Another thing Harry wished if he could figure out what that infernal dream meant. He knew it held a couple of clues that may be of assistance to him other than torturing him with the reflections of his past failures.

Harry pulled himself up. No matter what dreams haunted him, he still had to resume his normal school routine. Reluctantly, Harry remained at Hogwarts but he wondered whether it was exactly wise. The thoughts of his friends being left at Dumbledore's mercy to be manipulated tossed all thoughts out of this nature out of Harry's mind. Harry had made a vow a few months ago to protect his friends and family at all costs, even if those actions cost him his life. The rest of this year was going to long the rate things were going.


	11. Chapter 11: Encounters

**Chapter Eleven: Encounters**

The next few weeks were a trial to Harry, as he had to get back into the routine of attending all of his lessons. Somehow, Harry managed to catch up all what he missed, although he had a sneaking suspicion it was due to the Room of Requirement altering the properties of time that elapsed within it so he could complete his homework on time. Harry could not prove it but he was pretty sure that this was the reason why he completed all of his work for a six-week period within two days.

Classes were interesting for the most part. Defense Against the Dark Arts quickly became Harry's most anticipated subject, as he learned more within a few lessons with Professor Lupin than he did with both of his previous Professors. The variety of different creatures they learned up such as Red Caps and Kappas was very intriguing to Harry. Snape seemed to be his usual self in his lessons, being biased against the Gryffindors while favoring the Slytherin students. It was times like these where Harry was glad he got sorted into Slytherin. Even if he had to put up with Malfoy on a regular basis, at least he did not feel the wrath of Snape.

Harry's other classes were going along smoothly, with the exception of Care of Magical Creatures. It seemed Hagrid was very reluctant to anger the Board of Governors and spent lesson after lesson on Flobberworms. In Harry's mind, they were the most useless creature in existence, with perhaps the exception of Fudge and Lockhart.

Hermione seemed to be attending two classes at once still several times a week although Harry could not for the life of him figure out how she managed to do this, the handful of times he thought about it.

Unfortunately, Ginny still laid in St Mungos, not responsive to anything or anyone. With all the work Harry set upon himself, including researching how to tell if a magical block had been placed on him or not, along with the nearly fanatical approval he had been taken to practicing his ninjitsu skills he could not find the time to visit her. This tore up Harry inside and there were times where Harry looked over, but realized Ginny was not there. The Twins told Harry that their mother had written to them, informing them that if everything went right, Ginny should recover in about two or three months. Of course, Harry knew all to well that everything rarely went right in life. Maybe in some fairytale dream world where good always won over evil in every battle, but Harry faced the harsh reality that life was filled with darkness and sorrow.

Dumbledore seemed to spend most of his time in his office, no doubt planning to manipulate more people. Harry wished he could stop him but he did not have the resources necessary to put Dumbledore out. He had a handful of loyal friends, his family and quite a decent amount of knowledge on some advanced magic but that was it. Dumbledore had the Ministry of Magic, decades more experience, and he had know doubt amassed a few loyal fanatical followers. Also Voldemort, should he ever return, had the support of the pure blooded supremacists. One thing held true, the Wizarding World needed Harry more than he needed them. If Voldemort ever found a way to come back, Harry had no doubt that this time he may achieve his goals, as it was by some fluke that he was destroyed last time on that fateful Halloween Night.

Quidditch Practice was the usual hell. Malfoy attempted to worm his way into the team during Harry's absence but Harry decided to solve this problem in a simple yet effective matter.

"Potter! I'm the Seeker of this team now!" yelled Malfoy, who seemed to have gotten over his Buckbeak induced fake injury recently. "You're nothing, I took your spot on the team!"

Harry shook his head. Malfoy would never learn. Malfoy rose up into the air and Harry shot up with him.

"Potter, I don't know what you are doing," said Malfoy. "You're no longer on the team, Potty. Flint has put me in your place as Seeker. I took your spot just like that Weasley girl was taken from Hogwarts just like the trash she is. You..."

Malfoy crossed the line and Harry snapped, he was planning on doing this anyway, but he was going to knock Malfoy even harder for that last remark. Harry decided to shut Malfoy off by flying at him full speed. A sickening crack echoed throughout the sky as Harry hit Malfoy head on and Malfoy was sent flying off his broom from thirty feet in the air. Malfoy hit the ground with a thud, apparently both of his arms and one leg broken from the impact Harry caused by flying into Malfoy at full speed. Harry could have killed Malfoy but he didn't, so Harry did not stress over what he did too much.

Harry turned to Flint, who was smirking sadistically. It seemed the sadistic Quidditch captain enjoyed others suffering pain, as long as it wasn't him on the receiving end of it.

"I believe we have solved that problem, Flint," said Harry coolly.

"Indeed Potter," said Flint before turning to the rest of the team. "Now, let's resume practice. Up in the air you idiots, what in the hell are you waiting for. Christmas? Move it now."

The Slytherin team went through their usual hellish training regime. The more things change, the more things stay the same. Flint was set to leave this year, providing he managed to pass all of his classes this time. No doubt Slytherin Quidditch Players would rejoice once Flint and his militaristic style was gone.

The first Hogsmeade weekend of the year was approaching and thanks to Dumbledore's little power play, Harry found himself trapped in the school unable to join Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione. Then again, getting close to the Dementors was not that much of a great thought to Harry. The four days he spent with them hovering around his cell at Azkaban were bad enough.

Harry had gotten over his own fears of failure when he was awake. When he was asleep, a different story all together existed. Visions of Voldemort, Shredder, and the Dementors plagued his nightmares night after night along with the Chamber of Secrets incident being replayed, only turning out for the worst this time. In all of Harry's dreams, one theme seemed to crop up in every single one. He managed to somehow survive but those around him paid the price for his failure to protect them in death.

"Okay, I'm giving you gold, you're to return with chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate," said Harry to Hermione.

"Okay, Harry," said Hermione shaking her head. "Who am I to tell you for wasting your money?"

"Yeah, if Harry wants to buy all of Honeydukes, that's his business," said Daphne.

"You three have fun," said Harry. "I suspect I'll wander around, maybe I'll step in to visit my family briefly, providing if they are even awake as it is a Saturday."

Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione nodded before walking off towards Hogsmeade, leaving Harry in Hogwarts. Harry decided to take a brief walk around the school, just wandering around. He thought he might as well take a trip to the Slytherin library for some light reading.

"Harry," said a quiet voice, which caused Harry to turn around to look for the source. It turned out to be Professor Lupin.

"Hello Professor," said Harry in a polite voice.

"Why aren't you in Hogsmeade with everyone else?" asked Lupin.

"Black and Lestrange are still loose and the Headmaster seemed to think I was in too much danger to leave the school," said Harry.

Remus looked at Harry, perhaps he was imagining things but there was something that seemed close to anger when Harry mentioned Dumbledore's name. He decided not to bring up the subject, as Harry was the only link to his past and he did not want to alienate him after barely knowing him for a couple of weeks.

"Harry come into my office, it wouldn't ideal for you get caught by Filch wandering the hallways, even if it is during the daytime," said Lupin.

Harry walked into Lupin's office with him. The first sight Harry spotted was a tank with a pale green creature with sharp horns, poking its face ominously out of the weeds.

"The subject of our next Defense Against the Dark Arts class, a Grindylow," said Professor Lupin. "They tend to be rather nasty, rarely you find more than one. The trick is to break their grip, as their fingers are the weakest part of the body. Indeed, we will go into that in more detail in the lesson."

"I'm rather looking for that learning more about these creatures, Professor," said Harry looking at the creature with interest.

Strange creatures interested Harry but did not freak him out too much. Then again, living with four giant talking mutated turtles and a rat with the same condition rather numbed Harry's horror to the strange and mysterious. The only thing of this nature that freaked him out was the Dementors. Thoughts of this nature brought Harry back to his first class with Lupin. He frowned, wondering why Lupin never let him face the Boggart.

"Is there something that is troubling you, Harry?" asked Lupin looking concerned.

"Well, actually there is a question I want to ask of you," said Harry looking rather reluctant

"Go on, Harry," encouraged Lupin.

"Well, the day you had us face the Boggart, how come I never got to face it," said Harry.

Lupin looked at Harry with a curious look on is face.

"I was sure that would be pretty obvious, Harry," said Professor Lupin. "If you faced the Boggart, I naturally assumed it would take the form of Lord Voldemort but as I can see by the look on your face that I was obviously wrong."

"Voldemort did come to my mind at first, but the thing I really thought of as troubling was those Dementors," said Harry, looking a bit surprised Lupin actually used Voldemort's full name. There were not many in the Wizarding World who did that. The only two Harry could think of off the top of his head, besides Lupin, was himself and the old man.

Harry did not even mention that the Shredder came to mind, as he did not want too many people to know about his problems on the other side of the world involving the Foot. It would lead to too many awkward questions in the long run.

"So that suggests what you fear most, is fear itself," remarked Lupin thoughtfully. "Very wise Harry."

Before Harry could answer, he could here Lupin's door opening. Professor Snape walked in, carrying a goblet with some kind of potion inside that Harry could not recognize.

"Mr. Potter," said Snape with a brief nod before turning to Lupin. "Lupin, you should drink that straight away for it to be of any help."

"Thank you Severus," said Lupin, drinking from the goblet.

"I made an entire cauldron full, just in case you need more," said Snape.

"Yes, I believe I should take some more tomorrow," said Lupin as Snape walked out of the office, as if he was never there.

"Interesting potion, I have never seen anything before like that and believe me, I have read many Potion texts over the past couple of years," said Harry.

"Yes, I have a rare medical ailment that causes me to feel rather off color from time to time so this potion is the only thing that helps me," said Lupin. "Nothing life threatening I assure you, just a recurring problem that crops up every so often that needs the assistance of this potion. Professor Snape is one of the few that are able to brew this highly complex potion and I am grateful to be working beside an expert Potion Master such as him."

"Yes, if there is one thing Snape knows, it's Potions," said Harry.

"Yes, I must say I am rather surprised at your opinion about Professor Snape, Harry," said Remus unable to help himself from voicing his opinion. He tended to let things slip a bit more easily when it got close to his transformation.

"Why would that be, Professor?" asked Harry curiously.

"Your father and Severus didn't exactly get along at Hogwarts," replied Lupin slowly, choosing his words. "I would assume you could call it hatred as it was much like the situation between yourself and Draco Malfoy, only James and Professor Snape were in different houses. James pranking Snape almost every day for his own amusement used to drive Lily up a wall."

"I would then assume you knew my parents then, Professor," said Harry. "Any stories about them you can share."

"Well, James kept asking Lily out on a date for years but she turned him down several times," said Lupin. "I remember it well, James asked her out one thousand, seven hundred, and twenty seven times before she said yes. Of course, that is just a rough estimate; in fact I could be underestimating. She turned him, although the last few times I am sure she was just attempting to annoy James as she started to have a genuine interest toward your father towards the end. Finally she agreed towards the end of our sixth year and the rest is history."

Harry looked rather lost in his own thoughts so Lupin decided to continue on.

"It's rather hard to believe they are all gone," said Lupin in a hollow voice. "That night was horrid, I came back to the wreckage of the house a few days after it had happened. The magical backlash from Voldemort losing his powers and body appeared to be rather catastrophic."

"Indeed," said Harry darkly, remembering Dumbledore describing it the first time they met, when Harry had something vaguely resembling respect for the old man. His father's body was horribly mutilated and his mother's body was never recovered from the wreckage, as all evidence pointed it being destroyed during the explosion of the house. "I sometimes wonder how I survived, but then magic is a rather complex force."

"We can only guess, Harry," said Lupin. "Still, if you want to know any more about your parents, feel free to stop by. I briefly met Lily's sister and her husband and they did not seem to care for the Wizarding World too much so I doubt they were helpful on telling you anything about your parents."

"You have no idea," said Harry grimly as he left Lupin's office, to perhaps do some sparring with his brothers and then visiting them for a while. It seemed Lupin still believed Harry was living at the Dursleys and Harry decided he was not comfortable enough with Lupin knowing his secret about his true home right yet. Even through he had been friends with his parents, so had Sirius Black and Harry knew how that turned out.

In New York, Oroku Saki was sitting in his throne room in the Foot Headquarters Skyscraper looking over several documents detailing his legitimate business operations that he used to fund the Foot. The Turtles, the rat and Potter were destroyed many months ago, but Saki did not seem to be any closer to hunting down his ancient enemies. He knew for a fact they were somewhere in the city. Saki expanded much time and resources in searching for his ancient enemies. If he just had the Sword of Tengu, his efforts would no doubt go a lot quicker.

Saki examined the documents closely. The businesses were located in the three countries the Foot had a base of operations in. Great Britain, The United States, and Japan. The most profitable business as of late seemed to be a British company that made drills known as Grunnings. While Saki did not care for the director of the business personally, he did get results and as long as the money kept coming in, Saki would keep this foul man under his payroll. His chain of gas stations was also booming.

Saki also reflected on his three bases of operation. The first and most close to Saki was his New York base of operations. Saki's most trusted aide in the United States, the man mountain known as Hun, trained the New York Foot Ninjas. Hun's size fooled a lot of people but he was very skilled in martial arts and knew how to get results with the New York recruits.

Then there was the Japanese Foot, Saki's home until the middle of the sixties when his Ancient Enemies fled like cowards from their Tokyo base of operations. Saki's foot base in Japan was located in Tokyo and was run by his adopted daughter, a young woman known as Karai. Karai was the most efficient of his three Foot trainers scattered throughout the world, as her trainees were more skillful with a greater variety of weapons and quicker than their New York counter parts.

The final Foot base was located in Great Britain, in Manchester. A wicked skilled aristocrat by the name of Corbort ran the British base of operations. He was a ruthless piece of slime who kidnapped homeless children and turned them into ruthless ninja assassins. In other words, he was the Shredder's kind of guy. The only reason Shredder added a third base of operations is in the late seventies when he briefly entertained the idea of joining forces with the Dark Lord Voldemort. Of course, that plan only went as far as the first meeting with Lucius Malfoy before Voldemort met his demise.

Oroku Saki lost his concentration when one of his aides in the Foot Tech division came up to him.

"Master Saki, we have a possible lead on your enemies," said the Foot Tech Division member before handing Saki a piece of paper.

Saki looked over the paper before getting to his feet. The lead led to an abandoned military base just outside the city, complete with an underground bunker. This could prove to be promising. He needed to lead his Ninja towards another possibility for the whereabouts of his ancient enemies. As he walked over to the glass case with the familiar metal body suit, preparing to suit up just in case he had some exterminating to do tonight.

Hogsmeade seemed to be a good time for everyone who visited. True to their word, Harry's friends brought him back a lot of chocolate. Harry bitterly wished he could have gone to Hogsmeade and he once again cursed the old man.

Late at night, Harry was sneaking towards the Slytherin library but the hallways seemed to be blocked. Harry needed to get through that hallway to get to the entrance for the library but as it appeared he may not get through without being seen, he briefly considered using the Portus-Amulet.

Harry ducked into an unused classroom and he found himself face to face with a gaunt looking man black hair. The Boy Who Lived cursed, he was standing face to face with Sirius Black. Harry pulled out his wand, ready for a fight, as if he was half as vicious as Lestrange, he may be in for a tough battle.

Sirius looked up and he thought he was seeing things. He could have sworn this was his godson, Harry but why was he wearing Slytherin house robes of all things. Something was not right, perhaps it was a trick of light or maybe it was not Harry at all. Sirius looked at the boy in the room.

"I mean no harm," whispered Sirius desperately. "I just needed to get my revenge, it's his fault I was in Azkaban."

Harry looked at Black with a slightly confused look. Something was not as it seemed but he could not place his finger on it right at the moment.

"Whose fault is it?" hissed Harry.

"I can't tell you that," said Black in a low voice. "You wouldn't believe me, he's supposed to be dead."

Harry looked at Black; maybe Azkaban had knocked a few screws loose.

"Who are you anyway?" asked Sirius, wondering whom he was having a conversation with.

"You mean you don't know," said Harry. "I', sure it was obvious, as I'm rather famous. I killed your Lord after all and if you make one wrong move you'll be joining him."

Sirius fell back, sinking on a desk. This was Harry. This meant, this meant, he was a Slytherin. Sirius could not believe it, James and Lily's son in that house. Something obviously happened to Harry, this had to be the Dursleys fault. Sirius knew Dumbledore was cracked when he sent Harry to them.

"You're a Slytherin," whispered Sirius, saying the only thing that came to his mind.

"No, I'm a Hufflepuff," said Harry sarcastically. "The robes do kind of clue you in on the fact of what house I am in."

In spite of his godson being in that house, Sirius gave a short bark like laugh.

"You have a sense of humor just like your mother, Harry," whispered Black.

"You have no right to talk about her or my father!" cried Harry, losing his temper.

A few sparks flew out of Harry's wand, lightly stinging Sirius on the nose. His godson was sure powerful, like his parents if simple wand sparks could sting.

"Harry, I don't have time to explain right now," said Sirius wordlessly banishing desks out of the way so his godson did not hit his head once Sirius stunned him when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. "I'm really sorry."

Harry raised his wand but Sirius was quicker on the draw.

"Stupefy," said Sirius reluctantly and Harry hit the floor. Sirius sent up sparks to notify someone that Harry was there before transforming into his Animagus form before leaving.

A few minutes later, Hermione, Luna, Theodore, and Daphne were standing over Harry as he revived from the stunning spell. Snape, McGonagall, and Lupin hovered in the background.

"What happened Harry?" asked Hermione looking rather terrified.

"Black attacked me, that's what happened!" said Harry a bit sharply.

"He's been busy tonight," said Luna lightly. "It seems he has ripped the Fat Lady's portrait to shreds. It seemed like he was looking for something in Gryffindor tower."

"It could have been Harry, maybe he assumed Harry was in Gryffindor as news does not get into Azkaban too easily," said Daphne.

"Still, it was lucky he's mentally unstable and only hit you with a stunner, Harry," said Theodore. "He could've used something more lethal."

Harry just nodded as Snape turned to Harry.

"Mr. Potter, all students are to sleep in the Great Hall tonight as per the Headmaster's orders," said Snape. "Lupin, McGonagall, and myself will escort you five there, as it is ill advised to wander the corridors alone with Black on the loose."

Snape motioned for Harry and the others to follow. Several thoughts ran through Harry's mind at this point in time. Several inconsistencies cropped up between Black's words and what he knew. Black seemed rather saddened he had to attack Harry and seemed to go out of his way to avoid Harry cracking his head on one of the desks, injuring him any further. Also, all Black used was a stunning spell, surely if Sirius Black was out for his for his blood and a powerful member of Voldemort's inner circle he would have used a Killing Curse instead of a simple stunning spell to finish Harry once and for all.

Harry sunk into his dreams, still deep in thought about the inconsistencies involving Black. Of course, he also had to deal with the usual dreams involving Voldemort, the Shredder, and the Dementors with him failing every time. Not to mention Dumbledore's recurring role about taunting him about his power being blocked and the Chamber of Secrets replay with a worst-case scenario ending.


	12. Chapter 12: Awakening

**Chapter Twelve: Awakening**

Severus Snape looked in yet another classroom, his wand raised in the air, ready to fire at the first sign of Black. Apparently, Black broke into the school tonight, looking for something. Snape could care less what, as if he ever saw Black again, it would be all too soon. Still, apparently Black ripped the Gryffindor House entrance portrait to shreds when it refused to allow him access with the password.

Snape searched the next classroom, attempting several revealing spells but finding nothing. He would not put it past Black to come to Hogwarts to kill him when he found out he was teaching her. After all despite being a Death Eater, Snape did not go to Azkaban and despite not being a Death Eater, Black did. After all Black attempted to kill Snape once before. Snape remembered the incident with Lupin and shuddered, as he remembered he could not sleep for weeks. Black did always have a bit of a temper when provoked and he seemed to enjoy tormenting Snape, sometimes even more than Potter.

Snape sighed as he reached the last classroom, finding no one inside except for that wretched Poltergeist. Peeves bounced a couple of paper balls off of Snape's head, cackling madly.

"Snively Snapey Snivellius!" chanted Peeves wickedly. "Ah, why the long face, Snively."

Snape lost his temper and blasted a wordless spell at Peeves but Peeves zoomed through the wall. The Potions Master decided he better report his findings back to the Headmaster. Everything Snape heard these days, he had a strong compulsion to tell the Headmaster, especially when it involved Potter. Privately, Snape wondered if being tied to someone so powerful and evil such as Dumbledore with an Unbreakable Vow was starting to affect his mind as in the past few years he started to lose common sense.

A few days later, Harry, Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione were walking from Potions Class.

"It's weird isn't it, how Black escaped?" commented Hermione. "I thought nothing was supposed to get past the Dementors."

"Well, evidently Black found a way that did," said Daphne frowning. "Still Azkaban had to do something to mess with his mind, because he could have killed Harry but he let him go."

"Still, I wonder if Black will attempt to break into Hogwarts again," said Theodore. "Or if Bellatrix Lestrange would pay us a visit any time soon."

Harry shuddered in spite of himself. He remembered when he dueled Bellatrix briefly and she knocked him around pretty good. Harry could see why she was one of Voldemort's most trust servants.

"Harry, are you still here?" asked Hermione looking concerned at her friends state. She knew Harry was more effected by Ginny's condition than he would even care to admit and Hermione had a shrewd suspicion why, although she would not spell it out for Harry. Rather Hermione would allow Harry figure it out on his own. Knowing Harry's intelligence on anything but the blatantly obvious, Hermione figured this might take a while.

"Yes, Hermione, I'm still here," said Harry in a tired voice. Flint was running them ragged as ever as the match with Gryffindor drew ever closer and Harry had not gotten more than two hours of sleep in several weeks due to his recurring nightmares. Also, he still worried about Ginny's chances of recovery.

"Okay, Harry, if you say so," said Hermione, not wanting to press the issue too much. Harry could get really testy once he was in one of his moods.

Dumbledore pulled out his Pensieve; ready to examine something that had been bothering him for a few weeks. The Pensieve was a relic from the Ravenclaw line, a relic Dumbledore found eleven years ago in the ruins of Lestrange Manor. The Manor had been destroyed with a fight involving all three Lestranges and Barty Crouch Junior against the Aurors. Nearly half of the Aurors were killed before they brought the Lestranges and Crouch to justice.

When Dumbledore found the Pensieve, it seemed to be a curiosity to him, because if Dumbledore did not know any better, the relic possessed some kind of presence of its own sometimes. This presence caused the relic to not work, as it should when Dumbledore first used it but somehow Dumbledore found a way to work around whatever was done to the Pensieve.

Dumbledore put his wand to his forehead, pulling the strands of thought from his temple. They glowed a sinister red for a brief second before turning into the silver that was used for Pensieve recollections. When Dumbledore was finished, he extracted two memories, one of Harry Potter before his little side trip to Azkaban and one of Harry Potter after his side trip to Azkaban.

Waving his wand in a triangular pattern, Dumbledore focused on the strands of memory. He found exactly what he was looking for and it did not please him at all. The block he put on Harry's magic on that Halloween Night in 1981 was still there in both cases. However, in the post Azkaban memory of Potter, it appeared that the block was slowly fading away. The pre one had the block as strong as ever. Dumbledore knew Potter could not remove the block on his own, without the help of someone extremely powerful. There were only four people who had the knowledge and the power to remove such a block. The first of these people Dumbledore disposed of years ago, so Dumbledore would not have to worry about her messing things up.

The second was Voldemort and Dumbledore knew that could not happen for obvious reasons, least, of which being his hatred of Harry and his current state of spectral existence. The third one was Professor Snape and Dumbledore had him under his thumb with that Unbreakable Vow, so that would not be happening. The final one was of course Dumbledore himself and Dumbledore knew he would not be releasing the block.

Dumbledore picked up a lemon drop, sucking on it. After that incident a couple of months ago, Dumbledore felt he would not be touching anything with chocolate for days. He spent more time in the bathroom than anyone should and worst of all, he had been bamboozled by one of the oldest tricks in the book. If he ever caught who did that to him, Dumbledore plotted to remove and mount this person's head on his office wall.

Harry sat in the Slytherin library, researching ways to remove a magical block. Unfortunately, he found a stumbling block, as it appeared that no one could remove a magical block from themselves from all the books he went through so far. Harry decided to stall his efforts on looking this and start looking for things that would help him should he have to go up against the Ministry, Dumbledore, or Voldemort. His Metamorphmagus practicing had went rather well, as he had been able to conceal both his Foot and Voldemort induced scars along with changing the color of his eyes and changing his hair to a light brown color, along with making his hair lay flat.

Harry found a book that was titled: **Slytherin's Guide On To Become An Animagus**.

"I think I should look into this," muttered Harry to himself. Being an Animagus, the ability to change into an animal, was a good skill to have in the Wizarding World. This skill came in handy, especially if one had a small form. This way, they could slip away quickly and use it for stealth purposes.

Harry read through, it appeared the process for becoming an Animagus took two years, at the very least. First there was the potion that needed to be brewed over a period of six months to unlock the form, and then the training took quite a significant amount of time. Harry felt if he pressed hard and started soon, he could achieve his full form sometime during his fifth year. It would be worth the time and effort Harry would be putting in to do so.

Harry decided he better get to work on the Werewolf Essay that was assigned for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Apparently, Lupin was sick and Snape was filling in for him for many of his classes. Of course, Snape decided to assign them a difficult essay.

Harry looked over his textbook for this year for his Defense Against the Dark Arts class, finding a section on werewolves after a couple of minutes of searching.

_Werewolves are the most discriminated against creatures in the Wizarding World. Despite the fact they only turn into the monster a few nights a month, they are shunned by society. To recognize a Werewolf, one should look for the person infected with lycanthropy (the disease that causes the transformations) to appear extremely tired a few days prior and a few days after the full moon. People who happen to be Werewolves also appear older than they really are._

Harry shut the book, something felt off about Professor Lupin and now he knew what it was. The Boggart turning into the Full Moon, Lupin being sick around the time on the Full Moon, and what he read about the aging. Lupin could be no older than his thirties yet he looked to be in his late forties or early fifties.

Harry had no problems about Lupin being a werewolf as he was only dangerous when he transformed. Plus, Harry remembered reading about a new developmental potion that would help Werewolves keep their mind during transformation. Another click went off in Harry's mind that had to be what Snape brought Lupin when Harry went to Professor Lupin's office during the last Hogsmeade Weekend.

Harry decided not to tell his friends about his discovery, as the fact Werewolves having a hard time in the Wizarding World stood out in Harry's mind. Lupin seemed to be a decent enough guy, and Harry did not want to sabotage his Defense Against the Dark Art's teacher's future.

The day of the Quidditch Match with Slytherin and Gryffindor was upon us. The weather was extremely frigid and wet, as rain fell from the sky but Flint did not care. He turned to his fellow team members with a sour expression on his face.

"If you don't win, I'll kill you," said Flint wickedly before motioning the rest of the Slytherin team to the outside.

Harry stepped outside and he became soaked in less than a minute. The rain and the wind was blowing his hair in front of his face, making it difficult to see.

"Potter, quit standing there, a little rain ain't gonna hurt you," barked Flint.

"Yeah, but a lot can kill you," muttered Harry darkly as he used his Metamorphmagus to shorten his hair slightly so it would not whip in his face as much.

"Welcome to the most anticipated match of the year, every year, although I don't know why they hold it first, as it makes everything else seem anticlimactic," said Lee Jordan who was monitored by McGonagall as always. "We have the noble and virtuous Gryffindor Team lead by Oliver Wood against the Slimy, with the exception of one player, Slytherin Team led by the sadistic and unbalanced Marcus Flint. Flint is a right b..."

"Jordan!" screamed McGonagall in warning. "Keep your opinions to yourself. You are lucky I allowed you get this far, but I am in a good enough mood today."

Everyone flew up. Flint and Wood shook hands, attempting to break the other's fingers. The game began but no one got any points for quite some time, as they had to fight both the opposing team and the storm raging outside. After Twenty Minutes, Gryffindor Chaser Katie Bell managed to score a goal, much to Flint's displeasure. He ordered his Chasers and Beaters to attack the Gryffindor Chasers with reckless abandoned. Harry just sat back, and watched the show, especially when the Weasley twins joined the fray, when George attempted to use Flint's skull as beater practice.

"This is turning into a regular brawl up there," said Lee excitedly. "Hooch's having a hard time breaking this up and The Slytherin Seeker has seen the Snitch!"

Indeed as Harry shot towards the Snitch. The Gryffindor Seeker seemed rather uncoordinated, barely able to stay on his broom. Gryffindor had three different Seekers since Harry went to Hogwarts, only the one during Harry's first year having any marginal talents. Harry thought Gryffindor would not have Seeker problems if he had been sorted in the House but now was not the time to worry about it.

The Gryffindor Seeker spiraled out of control as Harry had his hands a few inches away from the Snitch but his muscles tensed up. It seemed the Dementors had left their post at the entrances to watch the game. Harry never knew Dementors could be Quidditch fans. Harry decided he better end this right now and he grabbed the Snitch, giving Slytherin the victory but he began to feel light headed as the Dementors started to close in.

The sound of the storm and the crowd went numb but Harry knew he had to get as far away from the Dementors as possible. He shot off on his broom, away from the Quidditch pitch, severely weakened from the effects of the Dementors. The wind whipped in the air and Harry stopped in front of a giant willow tree to catch his breath. A huge gust of wind made Harry lose his balance and he lightly brushed against the tree.

"Oh great," muttered Harry sarcastically as one of the branches whipped up, smacking him in the shoulder. Another whip up, causing the branch to hit him over the back, causing both Harry and the broom to spiral down onto the ground below the tree.

Harry looked up, dazed and particularly dangerous looking tree branch whipped up. The Slytherin Seeker winced, as he knew once that tree branch connected, he could very well be ripped in half. At the last second, something pulled Harry out of the way. Harry watched as the tree branch connected with his Nimbus 2000 broom, shattering it into pieces.

"No," whispered Harry but he turned around to see if he could find his rescuer. All he saw was a shaggy black dog walking away from him, towards the Forbidden forest. After seeing that, Harry passed out from the pain of getting whacked around by this violent tree.

Later in the Hospital Wing, Harry groggily woke up, surrounded by Hermione, Daphne, and Theodore. It took Harry a moment to remember what appeared to be a possessed tree pummeled him. Harry had a feeling this little encounter was not going to help his mental state.

"Harry, are you going to ever have one Quidditch Game where you don't get injured or an attempt is made on your life for some reason?" inquired Theodore.

"I doubt that," remarked Daphne shaking her head. "It seems Harry has been having a string of bad luck when it comes to Quidditch. You've been out for six hours this time Harry."

"At least I won," said Harry weakly.

"That's like saying at least Fudge accidentally passed a law that didn't benefit him," said Daphne.

"Still, the Dementors made yet another attempt on my life," said Harry. "To add to that perfect day, I get assaulted by a psychotic tree and my broomstick gets smashed into bits."

"Dumbledore didn't look too happy about the Dementors," said Hermione. "I overheard him muttering, "this isn't supposed to happen until I say it happens" to the Dementors and then they glided off before acting like he was banishing them off with a spell. "

Harry looked rather confused at that. The Dementors did not obey most wizards and Lupin had to drive them off with a spell, but Dumbledore just said a few words, and they glided off.

"Dumbledore has something else up his sleeve," said Harry grimly.

"So what else is new," replied Daphne dryly. "I think that old man tries to manipulate people in his sleep."

"The Dementors are supposed to be under the control of Fudge," said Theodore frowning. "They aren't supposed to listen to anyone but the current Minister who has some kind of magical relic that keeps them in line."

Magical relic that keeps creatures in line? Harry remembered reading about something like that a long time ago but he could not remember where.

Madam Pomfrey walked out of her office, looking at Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione before shooing them out of her Hospital Wing.

"Good Mr. Potter, you're awake," said Pomfrey.

"So what's the damage this time, since I got assaulted by that tree," said Harry. "I only brushed against it, I swear."

"Broken collarbone and severely cut up right arm, but other than that, you were remarkably unhurt for getting in a close encounter with a Whomping Willow," said Pomfrey. "You're to stay the weekend as I repaired all the damage but you still need to rest Mr. Potter and then you may leave Monday morning. Good day to you."

Harry sank into a state of sleep, due to lack of anything better to do. On and off, Harry slept for the duration of the weekend until he was let out on Monday Morning.

In Ancient Runes on Monday, Professor Johnson was teaching a spell about how to detect if any spells were put on a person or magical skills developed that showed in Rune form. After his demonstration, the class paired off. Hermione was partners with Harry.

"Okay, Harry, do you want to me to go first or you go first?" asked Hermione quietly.

"You can go Hermione," said Harry, wanting to confirm his theory.

"Declaro," muttered Hermione as a holographic mist flew up over Harry's head. She raised her eyebrows as several different runes appeared above Harry's head, five in total.

The first of which was a wand with a lock around it, the second was a green lightning bolt, third was a snake, the fourth was an interconnected faint red line between two people, and the fifth was a crest with the elements wind, water, earth, fire, and metal.

Harry could figure out that three of them represented his mystic abilities, the fact he survived the killing curse, and the Parseltongue abilities but Hermione had to look through the Ancient Runes textbook to look up the other two. Hermione thumbed to the textbook, looking rather excited.

"Harry you've got a Compatibility Bond with someone," whispered Hermione excitedly. Hermione had a shrewd guess who that this bond was with thus proving her earlier guess a couple of weeks ago.

"What's that Hermione?" asked Harry frowning.

"It's an extremely rare bond between two people," said Hermione in a hushed tone reading the book. "It's unusual for anyone to find someone that they are completely compatible with, as their counterpart is sometimes in a different time period or even in an alternate universe. The bond has no limitations by age, as it first begins to form when the compatible people meet. Also, it says that separately the two people will be weaker but when they are together, they are more powerful as they draw on each other's magical power. Also the people involved in such a bond will be fanatically loyal to each other, no matter what and can balance out the other halves less desirable tendencies."

"Interesting," said Harry. "So I have another rare magical ability."

"Yes but this time it is not a bad one," said Hermione. "Although the bond is only partially formed as it is a light red."

Harry just nodded, at a loss of what to say. He could not figure out who he could have possibly formed a bond with like this and at such a young age. Of course, if Harry was honest with himself, he could see he was deluding himself from the obvious conclusion.

Hermione looked up the final unidentified Rune and suddenly got a sick, revolted look on her face.

"Harry, look at this," whispered Hermione looking like she was going to get sick. "This is a Magical Suppression ward. It blocks anywhere between forty percent to one hundred percent of a person's magic, depending on how magically powerful the person is. This spell is said to be one of the Darkest Spells in existence."

Harry looked at Hermione with an unreadable expression on his face. Hermione decided to continue speaking as it looked like Harry wasn't going to say anything.

"I'm guessing it is closer to the forty percent blocked as if it was all the way blocked, you would be a Squib," said Hermione. "Who would do such a thing and when would they have a chance to do it?"

Harry motioned for Hermione to lean in close so only the two of them could hear.

"I'm pretty sure Dumbledore did it, the time I'm guessing is the night my parents were killed by Voldemort and he attempted to kill me," whispered Harry as Hermione's eyes widened in horror. "It can't be removed by my own hand. I need someone extremely powerful to remove so and the only two that appear to be on that level of power is Voldemort and Dumbledore. I doubt they would consent to remove the block due to not liking me for various reasons."

Hermione looked rather irritated at Dumbledore but did not press the subject any further. She muttered under her breath about "power hungry old man" and "performing unauthorized spells on toddlers" as they left. The revealing spell saw that Hermione did not have anything that left a Rune performed on her or any spontaneously formed magical powers.

After Care of Magical Creatures and then Dinner, Harry decided to take a trip to the Room of Requirement for a brief visit with his family before using his Portus-Amulet to take a trip to St. Mungos to visit Ginny.

Harry arrived at the makeshift lair. Everyone gave him a brief greeting before they all went back to their business giving Harry a chance to look around. Master Splinter was apparently in the middle of a training session involving Raph and Leo. Don was scribbling away at something on a notepad and Mikey was reading a comic book while eating some chips.

"Now my sons," instructed Master Splinter to Leo and Raph. "At times, an attack can come from anywhere, even from behind and when you are at a handicap. Raphael stand back while I give you instructions. Leonardo, turn your headband around, so it is covering your eyes."

Splinter led Raphael over and he pulled his Sais out, twirling them.

"Raphael, attack," said Splinter to Raph. Raph eagerly sprang into action but when he drew his Sai up, Leo blocked it with a Katana. Leo turned around blocking a second Sai shot with his Katana before disarming Raph in one swift motion.

Raph growled and attempted to take a shot at Leo but Leo ducked and tapped Raph on the shell with the flat end of his Katana. Raph attempted to pick up his Sais but Leo kicked him, before leaping up into the air, pinning Raph's wristbands to the ground with his Katanas.

"The lesson here is expect the unexpected," said Splinter as he helped a sullen Raph out of his trapped predicament. "Do not get overconfident despite your opponent being at a disadvantage and if you have the disadvantage, one should use everything at their disposal so they can turn their disadvantages into advantages."

"Let me have a go at this attacking from behind," said Harry.

"If you wish, Harry," said Splinter. "Leonardo turn around and get ready."

Leo prepared himself, as Harry pulled out his new and improved Double Edged Sword ready for sparring. The original had been destroyed in the battle with the Basilisk.

"Attack, Harry," commanded Splinter.

Harry took the long way around to the front instead of a straight attack from behind. Leo spun around, ready for an attack from behind. Harry was already in the air and Leo barely blocked the double edge sword swipe with his Katanas. Harry leaped over Leo before discreetly rolling underneath. Leo swung wildly but Harry was standing off to the side. Harry hung onto the wall before kicking off. Leo managed to stick his Katana into the ground to keep him from falling before yanking them back and going back to a standing position. He charged Harry and Harry decided to step to the side slightly before throwing his double edge sword at Leo's feet as a distraction as Leo swung his Katanas.

Thinking he disarmed Harry, Leo got off his guard and Harry pulled out a Chigirika from his robes. This weapon was a two-foot stick equipped with a two and a half foot spiked chain with a ball on it. Harry swung it in the air, before wrapping it around Leo's swords and pulled them straight from his hands.

"Excellent work Harry," praised Splinter. "Another lesson is not to rely on a primary weapon as you can be disarmed at any time and perhaps use the loss of a primary weapon as a diversion to bring another concealed weapon into the battle."

Splinter looked over to Michelangelo. He walked over, tapping Mikey across the back of the head with his walking stick to bring Mikey out of super hero land.

"Michelangelo, it's your turn," said Splinter. "You get to attempt to attack Raphael from behind."

"Cowabunga!" cried Mikey leaping up as Raph concealed his vision. Harry decided to see what Don was up to.

Harry looked over Don's shoulder, as Don scribbled something but shook his head and erased it. Back in New York, Don went through more erasers doing his scientific and mathematical calculations than Mikey went through pizza.

"All those calculations and I have not got a clue what they mean," said Harry shaking his head in confusion. "Care to explain what they mean, Don."

"Glad to Harry," said Don before moving into full scientific brainiac mode. "I'm attempting to develop a way to make electronics work in a magical environment. This has been tried several times over the years and none have been successful and I believe I have figured out exactly why. All the previous attempts were an attempt to make electronics run off of magic. When the two were mixed together, an over stimulation of both magical and electrical energy caused the devices to explode. My opinion is this. I don't think a magical solution exists to this problem. The solution for this problem is readjusting the wiring along with a few other variables that are too complex to summarize briefly in a way where high quantities of magic flows smoothly without disrupting the workings inside the machine."

"Interesting and how far have you got on this problem," said Harry.

"Not very far, it is a lot of tedious work, calculating and recalculating every possible solution. As I don't have a computer at my disposal, this long process needs to be done by hand," answered Don. "I think I broke four pencils in frustration for it not coming along as it should."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out someday, Don," said Harry. "Listen, I've got to leave, I have other business to attend to. Tell the others I said bye."

"Okay, Harry," said Don absentmindedly working on another line of calculations.

Harry used his Portus Amulet to send himself to the Slytherin Library before using his Metamorphmagus abilities to make both of his scars disappear, shorten his hair, make it flat, turn it brown, and turn his eyes color to hazel. He could not be afford to be seen out in public. With another tap of his wand, the Portus-Amulet pulled himself towards St. Mungos.

Looking around the lobby, he was glad there was hardly anyone to see him as he used his Portus-Amulet to get him. From what the Twins told him, Ginny was on the fourth floor in the spell damage wing. Harry decided to make his way up, quietly and discreetly. There was very little chance Harry was going to be ambushed in a hospital but his paranoia was not going to let him take any chances.

He arrived, managing to pick the right door with Ginny lying in bed behind it. She laid back, her eyes open but a blank lifeless look in them still. Harry was torn up inside seeing his friend like this and he still partially blamed himself, even through the logical part of his brain still knew it was Dumbledore's fault.

Harry pulled a chair up beside Ginny's bed, sitting beside her but not knowing what to say. What could he say? He looked at Ginny not being her usual cheerful self. This fact broke Harry and he felt a great pain inside. Suddenly he felt a wave of magical energy. In his younger years, when he got upset he performed accidental magic but this felt very powerful as if a subconscious force was driving him on.

Harry could have sworn a light blue light enveloped Ginny but only for a second. Sitting back, Harry felt slightly drained from that burst of accidental magic and he wondered where it came from but an unexpected sound brought Harry out of his thoughts.

"I'm going to kill Dumbledore!" screamed the voice that brought Harry out of his senses.

Glad he had the foresight to put a silencing charm on the door, Harry jerked his head up and he saw Ginny sitting up her bed with an enraged look on her face. This look softened when she looked in Harry's direction. Harry looked over and saw that during the bout of magical outburst, he did not have enough magical energy to sustain his Metamorphmagus disguise.

"Hi, Harry," said Ginny quietly; looking a bit upset she startled her friend.

Harry just reached forward and hugged Ginny. He saw so glad she was awake he could not say anything.

"So how long was I out," said Ginny.

"Two months but you're awake now and that's all I care about," said Harry. "So, do you remember what happened in Dumbledore's office?"

Ginny looked reluctant to say anything.

"Ginny, I promise I won't get mad," said Harry although his eyes showed something else.

"Well, he tried to get me to spy on you," said Ginny. "Then when I refused, he tried to put me under the Imperius Curse..."

"He what!" said Harry before deciding he would file it away under potential blackmail material to use against Dumbledore but Ginny grabbed on to his arm to calm him down.

Harry heard the sound of the Healer outside the door.

"I have to go Ginny," said Harry. "I'm not supposed to be here."

Ginny looked up at Harry, not wanting to let go of his arm but she reluctantly did. Harry felt great disappointment when this act by Ginny happened, although he could not figure out exactly why this was right now and he reluctantly put his wand to his Portus-Amulet to bring himself to the Slytherin library.

In his office, Dumbledore had a splitting headache. He knew only one thing could bring on pain such as this to an entity with his magical power. The second stage of that blasted Compatibility Bond that screwed so many plans had been completed. The Headmaster was at a loss how as his potential pawn should be at Hogwarts and the girl was at St Mungos. This should not have happened, especially tonight.

If the third stage of the Compatibility Bond was completed, any hope of Dumbledore had of controlling Potter would go straight down the toilet.


	13. Chapter 13: The Map

**Chapter Thirteen: The Map**

A great air of fear lingered in the village of Hogsmeade in recent weeks. Indeed Hogsmeade had played host to several mysterious disturbances. A dark force had kidnapped people who were unlucky to linger outside at night. People went missing for days before turning up in the middle of the village impaled on a spike with signs on their face as if they were tortured by the Cruciatus Curse until their mind broke and a lightning bolt shape burned into their forehead. The attacker did not discriminate upon their victims whether the victims were men, women, or even small children. Hogsmeade lived in fear on when this attacker would strike again. Only one distinctive pattern was certain through all of the disappearances and subsequent murders, all the victims had black hair and green eyes like a certain Boy-Who-Lived known as Harry Potter. Even through the eyes did not match Potter's exact shade of green most of the time it was almost like this killer was trying to send a message to the Boy-Who-Lived.

Bellatrix Lestrange looked at a discarded newspaper she found at the edge of a wooded area outside of Hogsmeade, her face in amusement. It seems like these attacks were only enough to be second page material but not the front page. Apparently, Fudge's revolutionary Werewolf Regulation Act made the news; it appeared to get support from most of the pureblood supremacists. Bella thought if Fudge was any denser, he should just smear himself in blood and throw himself naked into a bottomless pit full of rabid hungry werewolves during the full moon as soon as this Act got passed.

Bellatrix looked at the front page, it seemed Lucius was giving his full support for the bill. No doubt, he had his own motives, most likely lining his own pocket with even more gold. After all, the spineless coward had cried Imperius when he was captured. From what Bellatrix heard, he screamed like a little girl and begged the Ministry not to send him to Azkaban. Bellatrix shook her head; her sister Narcissa had such a poor taste in men, unless of course she only married Lucius for his money. Then Bella's opinion her sister's choice in husband would go up substantially.

Bellatrix decided to get back on task, her thirst for pain was rising and she needed someone to torture. A sadistic smirk spread across Bellatrix's face, as she saw a little girl, no older than four, maybe five, playing close to the wooded area Bellatrix was currently hiding. The girl had green eyes and long black hair, the target group for Bellatrix's fun. The insane witch raised her wand into the air.

"Silencio, Accio little girl," muttered Bellatrix, causing the little girl to fly towards Bellatrix. Lestrange prepared to put the final touch on her victim. "Alacritas Glacialis."

The last spell put the girl in suspended animation for two hours, more than enough time to have Bellatrix get her away from the location the girl was kidnapped without any trouble. Bellatrix congratulated herself on a great find on this day of hunting. Small children always screamed the loudest and the longest under the Cruciatus, which gave Bella a lot of pleasure, as she loved a good torture.

Harry felt a little better than he had recently. Ginny was back the day after she woke up, as she practically insisted she would be allowed to comeback. Also the previous night, the nightmares Harry had recently had lessened to only a couple during the entire time he was asleep and one turned around, where Harry actually got the better of his nightmare adversaries towards the end before he woke up.

Professor Lupin had returned, looking rather ill still but at least he was back on his feet. Harry decided to keep what he deduced about Lupin to himself right now. Remembering something Lupin did to back off the Dementors on the train, Harry decided to stay behind after class. After a brief discussion on what happened where Harry learned the Whomping Willow was added to Hogwarts just a couple of months before Lupin began his education, Lupin had a theory on why the Dementors were so vicious against Harry.

"I believe the reason the Dementors target you so much is because of the bad memories you have in your mind," said Lupin. "Losing your parents at such a young age is something the Dementors like to feast on, all the sorrow, the pain that goes along with it."

"I was able to slightly block them out for brief amounts of time on the train, but they just kept pouring on their attack harder," said Harry.

Lupin raised his eyebrows slightly. Remus had never heard of anything being able to block Dementors naturally, even in a mild way. The Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher was at a loss to figure out why this was occurring.

"Well, this is something I never heard of happening, but there is a first time for everything," said Lupin. "If I would be able to make a guess, it seems as if the Dementors want to attack you further due to your attempts to fight their powers. The Dementors are difficult opponents to fight in any case, as they are hard to back off."

"You did on the train, through, Professor," said Harry.

Remus sighed, he had a feeling this was coming.

"Yes I did but the spell to do so is incredibly draining and not everyone can do it," said Lupin. "This spell is especially difficult when the number of Dementors are larger."

Harry looked at Professor Lupin. Even with that infernal power block, he still had a decent amount of magical power and he had used complex bits of magic in the past.

"I need to know Professor, I don't want to get effected by these Dementors," said Harry.

Lupin looked at Harry, considering this fact for a moment before responding.

"All right Harry, but we're going to wait after the Winter Holidays I am afraid," said Lupin looking weary. "I have much work to do, as my falling ill had become a hindrance on the workload for being the teacher of this class."

"Understood," said Harry before walking off. It would be a little bit before he could begin to learn how to defend himself against these foul creatures, but it would be worth it when he did.

A few days later, Harry was eating breakfast with Ginny, Hermione, Daphne, and Theodore while glancing over the Daily Prophet. There were times where Harry hated reading the news, it seemed to be so bad and this was no exception.

"Look at this," muttered Harry to his fellow third years and Ginny. "Another attack on a victim with black hair and green eyes in Hogsmeade."

"I think someone's trying to send a message to you, Harry," said Theodore.

"No, what was your first clue?" asked Daphne sarcastically. "This has been going on for a couple of months now and the Ministry still does not caught any suspects."

"Fudge couldn't even catch a cold," muttered Theodore darkly.

Hermione and Ginny nodded in agreement as they looked over Harry's shoulder. Harry felt revolted, as it was a young four-year-old girl, found with signs of prolonged exposure to the Cruciatus Curse with a spike impaled through her when she was found. To top it all off, she had a lightning bolt shape burned into her forehead.

"Harry, I hope you don't somehow think this is your fault," said Hermione.

Harry just narrowed his eyes at his friend before responding.

"Innocent people are dying just because I simply exist, do you think I can't help by feel a little responsible?" asked Harry.

"Harry, this isn't your fault," replied Ginny. "You couldn't have stopped this person even if you wanted to as they sound dangerous and a bit disturbed if you ask me."

Harry read over the article again. Something felt familiar about the method of attacks this person used and it seemed to match up with the method of attacks that Bellatrix Lestrange used during her time as a Death Eater, with the exception of the profiling of the victims and the lightning bolt scar. Torturing into the mind broke and then impaling the victim on a spike before setting them out in a very public place.

"I have a sneaking suspicion I know the psychopath behind this," said Harry. "Believe me she has an ample reason to attempt to unnerve me in her own demented mind, even through I don't agree with it."

Theodore and Daphne had wide eyed looks, realizing what Harry was implying.

"Bellatrix Lestrange, it had to be her," whispered Daphne in a terrified voice.

"Harry, this isn't good at all, she was only slightly below You-Know-Who in magical power," said Theodore.

Harry looked, if Bellatrix Lestrange was trying to do something to force him into an act of vengeance, fighting someone as dangerous as she was would be a battle that he cannot win at his current level of experience and knowledge. Harry felt he only survived the last time they met in Knockturn Alley because Bellatrix did not he was Harry Potter and she seemed to be more unhinged due to recently escaping from Azkaban.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle walked up to Harry and his friends at that moment. Harry's paper was snatched out of his hand by Malfoy who read it with a sneer on his feet.

"I'd hate to be someone who has black hair and green eyes right now," said Malfoy sneering at Harry. "Oh right, Potter, you aren't going to Hogsmeade because you are too terrified of the Dementors. So you're safe."

Harry looked at Malfoy. He wondered if should dirty his double-edged sword by ripping out Malfoy's voice box with it.

"What's the matter Potter, not the hero that everything thinks you are?" goaded Malfoy.

Harry raised his hand but Ginny grabbed his arm.

"He's not worth it Harry, just let it be," said Ginny in a calm voice.

"What's this Potter, letting the little Weasley whore do all your fighting for you now," said Malfoy in a low voice.

"Seen any Basilisks lately Malfoy," said Ginny in a low voice which caused Malfoy to back off. Getting petrified by the Basilisk controlled by Ginny when the Dark Lord possessed her was still a sore spot for him.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle walked off, as Malfoy seemed a bit terrified. Ginny looked, it seemed no one was able to keep Malfoy in line but Harry due to Malfoy's fear of her friend. Now it seems that Malfoy seemed a bit terrified of Ginny and if she had to admit, ever since she woke up from her Dumbledore induced injuries Ginny felt like she had a calmer more intimidating presence. Maybe a bit of this occurance was due to spending so much time with Harry recently and some of his personality was starting to rub off on Ginny.

Harry was really glad Ginny was back, as she had the ability to keep his urge to kill Malfoy for his stupidity in check. Malfoy seemed to hate Harry more these days and Harry knew exactly why this was. The first year Slytherins this year looked to Harry more as someone they could trust more than Malfoy and his fellow pureblood supremacists. The old guard seemed to be slowly crumbling out from underneath the Slytherin house, as the pureblooded ideals that shaped the house for many years were slowly fading. Harry felt this would take many years to completely take shape but he had accidentally stumbled upon something great. The hatred between the Slytherin and Gryffindor houses had fueled the first war with Voldemort. The prejudice many Slytherins were shown drove a good majority to serve Voldemort.

Later that night, Harry managed to survive another Quidditch practice with Flint, although he was at a loss how. He had borrowed one of school brooms, until he had a chance to purchase a new one, a course of action he planned to take after the Holidays. At this moment, he was assisting Ginny at getting caught up with the homework she missed due to being out for two months. Set out in front of him, was his copies of many of the same assignments he had the previous year. The only class that really changed was Defense Against the Dark Arts but this seemed to be Ginny's best subject so she did not need too much help with it.

"There Ginny, all your work from September appears to be all in order," said Harry, yawning slightly. It only took three days but they managed to accomplish getting a month's work of homework completed. Hermione helped Ginny a little bit but she could not help for too long due to her own massive class schedule.

"Thanks, Harry," said Ginny gratefully. She did not really want to repeat a year and Harry had been a great help. Of course, she could think of no one better for the job as Harry was one of the top students of his year.

Harry just gave a feeble smile. Two hours of sleep a night, that was just all he been getting since had getting since he been helping Ginny catch up on everything she missed. When Ginny decided to go to sleep, he started on his Homework and sometimes he was up until three thirty, four o' clock in the morning doing that.

Still, as Harry showed Ginny the wand movement for one of the new charms her year learned when she was out; he would not fail her again. Harry felt he should have insisted on going with Ginny during her meeting with Dumbledore. If he did, he had a feeling Dumbledore would not have dared to try anything like he did. Harry knew it would be hard to convince people of Dumbledore's true nature and that is why he was waiting to slowly gain more influence within the Wizarding World before attempting to bring attention to this fact. Changing the long held beliefs held by the public of the Wizarding World would not be an overnight happening and Harry felt a lot of long hard work would be at hand before he could accomplish anything.

In anything, leaving Dumbledore had too much influence and Harry needed to slowly pull that influence out from underneath the old man without revealing his hand. Harry expected pretty much anything from Dumbledore should he be backed into a corner just a little bit so Harry prepared for the worst. Dumbledore may have underestimated Harry but Harry prepared to overestimate Dumbledore's capabilities, as it was crucial for success.

Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione were at the library doing Homework in early December when Daphne decided voice something that she had been thinking about for quite some time. Since Harry wasn't there, still helping Ginny catch up with the homework she accumulated during her time at St. Mungos, she felt this would be the best time to voice it.

"Am I the only one who sees a change within the Wizarding World happening in the next few years?" asked Daphne.

"What do you mean?" asked Theodore.

"Look at this right now and try not to strain your brain, but it appears to me as if Harry is slowly gaining influence with the first and second years whether he knows it or not," said Daphne. "First it was just the Slytherins but now it expanded into the other houses slowly. If you asked any one of them who they thought the best person to lead them against You-Know-Who between Harry and Dumbledore, I bet you anything they would say Harry."

"Actually, I've noticed that to," said Hermione knowing where Daphne was getting at. "I think Harry is starting to lose some of that mythical figure aura that made him so intimidating to most when he first came into the Wizarding World. I see it everyday, younger students coming up to the hall to Harry asking him for advice, rather than for his autograph. Not just on schoolwork, but on how to resolve arguments with their friends and how to deal with a crisis with the upper year Slytherins harassing them."

"You may be onto something, Hermione," said Theodore. "Harry seems to be rather approachable now and less intimidating then he was before, especially since Ginny got out of St. Mungos."

"Just as well isn't it?" said Hermione, jotting down a part of her Muggle Studies Essay. "Harry is more identifiable as the leader of the light than Dumbledore is."

"I agree, Harry isn't a hundred and thirty years older than most of us," said Theodore.

"Maybe older, who knows what Dumbledore's been doing over the years to cheat death," said Daphne. "I mean, Witches and Wizards may live longer than Muggles but the average life expectancy for Magical people is only a hundred and ten years."

Hermione looked thoughtful, as that last conversation gave her something to think about. Harry seemed to be gaining people who would follow him anywhere, even if Harry would never ask them to. In a few years, Harry would most likely be the official leader of the Slytherin house, as the worst of the pureblood supremacists were in the upper years. Malfoy and his friends were just pretenders compared to the fifth, sixth, and seventh year Slytherins.

Harry and Ginny looked off as Theodore, Hermione, and Daphne went to the final Hogsmeade weekend before the Winter Holidays.

"I hate Dumbledore," muttered Harry. "No really, I really hate Dumbledore."

"Tell me something I don't know," said Ginny darkly. "He has no right preventing you from going to Hogsmeade. Why don't you just Portus-Amulet out and be done with it?"

Harry shook his head. The Portus-Amulet had been faulty ever since Riddle corrupted it with his evil during the attacks. It was slowly coming back to its once good state but Harry did not want to rely on it any more than he had to. The last thing he needed was to accidentally teleport himself to Dumbledore when he was in the shower. Harry shuddered at the very thought.

"Psst, Harry," whispered a voice behind him and Harry sprang around his wand out but he relaxed himself when he saw it was only Fred and George.

"Fred, it is almost like Harry was not happy to see us," said George with a smile.

"Indeed, George, he seems to be a bit jumpy today," said Fred.

"Anyway, Harry, enough small talk, we have a little gift that might help you with your Hogsmeade problems," said George.

"It is something we have been using for years to sneak about the castle and out of the castle," said Fred.

"Wait, Fred, I don't know if we should show this one of a kind object with our little sister here," said George, indicating Ginny. "She might decide to take a leaf out of our book and start pulling pranks using it."

"Yes, that's just what we need, another Weasley Prankster," said Fred in mock horror. "The two of us are bad enough and Harry can be really sneaky when he decides takes time off from fighting the forces of Darkness to pull a prank."

"Just show whatever you have," said Ginny irritably. "Cut the dramatics, you know I'm better at it than you two are anyway."

"Yes, Fred, George, I would like to see this magical object," said Harry. He knew this object could be of some use to him.

"Very well Harry, behold the one of a kind," said Fred.

"Simply magnificent," continued Fred

"Really extravagant," added George.

"Weapon of Pranking Destruction," said Fred pulling out a blank piece of parchment.

"A blank piece of parchment," said Harry.

"There's more isn't it," said Ginny.

"Yes, this beauty was found during one of our daily trips to Filch's office," said George.

"Picture the scene if you will," said Fred. "We were young, innocent."

"I don't think you two were ever innocent," muttered Ginny in a low voice. Her twin brothers had caused trouble for as long as she could remember.

"Well, more innocent then we are now," said Fred. "Anyway, we decided it would be great fun to drop an entire sack of dungbombs in the middle of the hallway one day."

"Filch got all mad for some reason, can't imagine why," said George. "He hauled us to his office, threatening us with the three D's. Detention, Disembowelment, and Decapitation."

"So as the story goes, we saw a drawer, marked Highly Dangerous Confiscated Objects," said Fred. "Now, we could not have left that alone very well, could we? So what do you think we done?"

"No wait, don't tell me," said Ginny in mock excitement waving her hand in the air. "You dropped another dung bomb risking life and limb to go treasure hunting through Filch's drawers."

"If I was a teacher I'd give you ten points to Slytherin," replied Fred approvingly. "In the confusion, most likely of Filch trying to kill my delightful twin with one of the chains he has hanging on his wall, I managed to swipe this."

"My theory is Filch never heard how to work it but he had a good suspicion on how it," said George. "We figured it out, do to a little trial and error. It was dead simple if you have the mind of a true prankster."

George pulled out his wand.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," said George.

Ginny and Harry looked in awe as a map slowly began to appear along with the words. **Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are proud to present the Marauder's Map.**

Harry's mouth opened, those four sure got around. He remembered his _Basic Potions for Everyday Pranks _book written by people of the same names.

"These four are known by Filch," said George pointing at the map. "This one we used until last winter but it's caved it. Also, the sixth one is by the Whomping Willow, so it can't be used for obvious reasons."

"So it leaves this one," said Harry catching on.

"Indeed, the entrance is in the hump of the one eyed witch," said Fred. "So we trust you can take care of getting into Hogsmeade from here."

"Indeed but be sure to wipe the map with the words Mischief Manage or anyone can read it," said George before Fred and George walked off to join the others in Hogsmeade.

Harry and Ginny watched Fred and George leave. Ginny turned around to speak to Harry.

"So, are you going to use the map to sneak into Hogsmeade or not and more importantly can I come with?" asked Ginny with a mischievous tone of voice, the prospect of going into Hogsmeade a year early seemed very appealing to the second year Slytherin.

"Yes and perhaps, if we can overcome a few obstacles," said Harry. "Unfortunately, you don't have the ability to use Metamorphmagus abilities to alter your appearance and you would be recognized in a heartbeat. Follow me, I have an idea."

Harry and Ginny walked until they reached the Slytherin library entrance. Ginny looked at Harry, wondering what Harry was talking about as there appeared to be nothing here but a blank wall.

Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and tapped the wall before it hissed, allowing him passage. Quickly, before he was spotted, he pulled Ginny through the wall and down the stairs towards the Slytherin library.

"What is this place?" asked Ginny looking around in awe.

"This is the place where I have learned most of my extra knowledge that I cannot find within the school library," said Harry, walking up to the portrait of Salazar Slytherin himself before the door leading to the library opened.

"Wicked," muttered Ginny in an excited tone of voice. "I bet all of those books have really interesting magic that the Ministry has banned due to them thinking our minds are too fragile."

"More or less, a lot of them are not Dark Magic just very questionable to the general public," said Harry before having Ginny sit down and pulling out his book on glamour charms.

Harry worked with Ginny; this was a bit more complex to put a glamour charm on someone else than person performing it doing themselves, as a person had to channel small pieces of their own magic into the illusion for it to stick.

"This would be a lot easier if you knew the ninjitsu art of stealth," muttered Harry, putting the final touches of the magic on his friend.

Ginny heard this and remembered her interest in this skill when Harry told her about it before Dumbledore did what he did.

"Harry, maybe you can teach me that," said Ginny.

"What, Ginny?" asked Harry, hoping she did not have some sort of interest in a certain dangerous and quite difficult art to master.

"Harry, I want to learn ninjitsu," said Ginny stubbornly. "You told me it would help me focus my mind, help learn to control it, and if I am not mistaken it would prevent another thing like Tom from happening."

Harry looked at his friend; she seemed to be a lot like him when he learned about the art of Ninjitsu the first time. Stubborn and willing to learn it, no matter what the cost.

"Ginny, you realize that this is a very demanding and draining art to learn, especially at first," said Harry. "You will be learning several tactics that can be used to kill people if I agree to teach you this. And what makes you think I am even accomplished enough to do so."

"Harry, I just know you are," said Ginny. "I can handle whatever you teach me, I can do it. Also, it can help me defend myself from the attacks from others right?"

"Correct, Ginny, but..." said Harry, but he shook his head. He could somehow not find a counter argument for this. "Maybe it would be better off if..."

"Harry, you can't protect me all the time or any of your other friends for that matter," said Ginny gently.

"I can sure as hell try," muttered Harry in a dark tone of voice.

"Harry, I'm just asking you, I'm not going to force you if you don't want to," said Ginny.

Harry looked at Ginny with a thoughtful look. Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione seemed slightly disinterested about learning how to defend themselves the Muggle way but Ginny really seemed excited about the prospect of doing so and Harry did not want to disappoint his friend by saying no especially when Harry made the crucial mistake of looking into Ginny's pleading eyes. That made Harry feel bad about being so arguing so much and he decided to give in.

"Fine Ginny, I'll do it," said Harry "Just promise me that if any one of your brothers are being difficult, you won't use your new found skills to shut them up."

"Okay Harry," said Ginny. "I won't let you down, I promise."

If Harry failed to train Ginny, it wasn't going to be Ginny letting Harry down in Harry's mind; it would be the other way around in Harry's mind.

"Good news is, my little disguise method is finished," said Harry. "It will last about four hours, after that it will wear off."

Harry muttered a reflection charm and Ginny looked at herself. She now had dark brown hair and green eyes with no freckles on her face.

"Come on Ginny, we have got to move quickly," said Harry using his Metamorphmagus abilities to change his hair to light brown, shorten it, straighten it, and change his eyes to hazel.

Harry had a blast spending the whole afternoon with Ginny browsing the shops of Hogsmeade. Honeydukes was by far Harry's favorite, but perhaps due to the high quantity of chocolate there. Harry saw Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione a couple of times, but decided not to tell them of his and Ginny's presence, as it was better off for no one to know that they snuck into Hogsmeade.

The weather started to get rather chilly as they went later in the day. As Ginny had about an hour and a half before her disguise wore off, Harry decided that a quick trip to the Three Broomsticks for a drink would be in order.

"Harry, you really didn't need to buy me that Butterbeer," said Ginny. "You already spent way too much on me, judging by all the chocolate you gave me. You didn't have to buy all of that."

"I didn't have to Ginny, I wanted to," said Harry cheerfully. "Just think of it as thanks for standing by me as my friend despite me being an idiot most of time."

"Harry you're not an idiot," said Ginny shaking her head in disbelief. Her friend was so judgmental of himself at times. "And I thought helping me with catching up with all my work was the thanks for standing by you."

"Ginny, just enjoy your Butterbeer," said Harry shaking his head before looking up and seeing the Minister of Magic along with McGonagall, Hagrid, and Professor Flitwick entering the Three Broomsticks.

"Harry what's..." began Ginny before seeing what Harry looked unnerved by and her eyes going wide. "Oh wonderful."

"Act natural," muttered Harry. "Make sure we don't give them a reason to think we look suspicions."

Ginny finished her Butterbeer slowly, not to arouse any suspicion. Harry did not pay much attention to what Fudge was saying, as he felt his IQ would drop significantly if he did.

"Ready to go," said Harry looking at his watch. He had forty-five minutes to get back to the school before the illusion he put on Ginny wore off.

"Yes," said Ginny as she stood up before walking towards the door with Harry.

Harry and Ginny walked back towards the Honeydukes entrance. There was hardly anyone outside as they apparently went into the Three Broomsticks due to the bitter cold weather. Harry felt a sigh of relief, he had gone outside the school and nothing bad had happened to him today.

"Well, if it isn't two ickle teenagers out and about alone on a date without any adult supervision," cooed a mock baby voice. "I wouldn't worry about it for long, as you would not live long to regret being out without someone to save you."

Harry turned around and cursed his rotten luck. Bellatrix Lestrange was standing right behind them, wand raised into the air.

"Crucio!"


	14. Chapter 14: Evil Shining Through

**Chapter Fourteen: Evil Shining Through.**

Ginny stepped in front of Harry, taking the curse before Harry could even gain his own bearings. A horrific scream rang out in front of Harry's ears and Harry pulled his wand pointing it towards Bellatrix.

"Reducto!" screamed Harry, sending a jet of light flying towards Bellatrix's head. This broke the dark witch's concentration and Ginny was kneeling in the snow, sweating profusely. "Ginny, what were you thinking taking a Cruciatus Curse for me? That was a foolish act and you could have put yourself back in St. Mungos."

"Oh, I'd suppose it would be better for you to be driven insane," said Ginny in an irritated voice.

Bellatrix looked at her foes with a predatory smirk. This should be a little more fun then she could have ever realized.

"Incidere!" cried Bellatrix, sending a spell that tore the flesh of a victim clearly off the bone in a very painful matter.

"Protego," muttered Harry, putting a shield around himself and Ginny, preventing them from getting destroyed by this nasty dark curse.

"Harry, we need to get a way out of here," suggested Ginny.

Harry knew that but he could not reach for his Portus-Amulet and leave Ginny defenseless against the crazy woman before him. The Boy-Who-Lived looked at a pile of snow, getting an idea.

"Expello!" cried Harry, banishing the pile of snow towards Bellatrix. Bellatrix screamed, trapped in a coffin of snow. "I think it's safe to say that Bellatrix Lestrange has been put on ice for the time being."

Ginny laughed out loud at the bad pun from her friend but the light moment quickly vanished as the snow quickly melted, leaving a very ticked off Bellatrix Lestrange, drenched in cold water, looking positively murderous.

"So, you foolish brats want to play games," said Bellatrix coldly. "Punctum!"

Razor sharp needles flew at Harry and Ginny but Harry had the presence of mind to pull Ginny out of the way and the two of the needles hit the side of his arm.

"Harry!" screamed Ginny in horror and for good reason, as not only was Harry hurt and bleeding from the needles puncturing his arm but he was starting to not be able to hold his Metamorphmagus transformation due to using magic to defend himself and Ginny.

Harry realized this too, as he knew if he had that other part of his magic that Dumbledore had not blocked, he could had sustained his abilities while doing magic but right now, he could only due partial transformations without using any spell casting.

"Time to wrap this up," said Bellatrix with glee. "Desumo Funis!"

A rope shot out of the end of Bellatrix's wand, wrapping around Harry. Harry felt himself being electrocuted through the rope.

"Diffindo," said Ginny, finding her voice, cutting the rope from Harry. Harry found himself laid out and panting in the snow.

"Expello!" yelled Bellatrix, banishing Ginny into the side of a building with malice. Ginny hit the building, looking groggy.

Bellatrix walked up to Harry who was groggy, with his hair sticking up more than usual due to being the victim of a short electrical shock. Lestrange pulled up the fringe of Harry's hair, revealing his lightning bolt scar. She backed off slightly, in shock of what she saw.

"You!" screamed Bellatrix in anger recognizing the one who defeated her Master years ago. "Crucio!"

Harry screamed in pain, attempting to shut it out but Bellatrix poured it on for a little bit until she heard something. The Dementors were coming and Bellatrix decided she did not want to come back to Azkaban right now after all the trouble she expended at getting out of the desolate place.

"So, I must be departing right now, Harry Potter," said Bellatrix her eyes dancing with madness. "But as a parting gift, I have two words for your little girlfriend."

Bellatrix stood by the doors in front of the building Ginny was banished in front of her, her wand raised in the air, grinning sadistically.

"Avada Ked..." began Bellatrix but Harry looked at the doors, getting a quick idea on how to stop Bellatrix from casting the Killing Curse.

"Alohomora!" cried Harry putting his wand at the doors, causing them to spring open, whacking Bellatrix in the side, causing her to skid on the ground.

Bellatrix looked at Harry with hatred before disappearing with a crack. Harry walked over to his friend, leaning against the side of the building, looking rather terrified as the Dementors came closer. No doubt as the Dementors came closer, Ginny had to relieve the shadowed memories, inconclusive of her time under the possession of Tom Riddle's diary.

"Ginny, we're using the Portus-Amulet," said Harry, pulling it out. He hoped that the thing would work this time. He tapped his wand to it, grabbing Ginny's hand before pulling them towards the Slytherin library.

Harry and Ginny were teleported to the top of the bookshelf.

"I think the Portus-Amulet is starting to recover slightly from when Tom had it," said Harry shaking his head. "At least the target was not that far off."

"Yes, now we just got to get down," said Ginny weakly but Harry scooped Ginny up in his arms, before he guided them both down from the book self. He gently set Ginny on the ground, before he looked at her with a concerned expression.

"Are you alright Ginny?" asked Harry.

"You're the one who got put under the Cruciatus Curse, Harry," said Ginny.

"You did too," said Harry.

"You got your arm punctured with needles," said Ginny. "Surely you are in more pain."

"You got banished into a side of the building and nearly got hit with a killing curse," said Harry. "When I get my hands on Lestrange..."

"Harry please don't do anything you're going to regret," said Ginny with a pleading look in her eyes.

"I don't think I'll regret it, I think it will be Bellatrix Lestrange who will be wishing she decided to break out of Azkaban," said Harry.

Ginny looked at her friend with worry. She did not want him to do something that would get him killed but Ginny did not want Harry to be upset with her pushing the issue.

Dumbledore was walking to his office, just returning from a meeting with Minister Fudge. It seemed the fool was still attempting to push through his anti-werewolf legislation. Dumbledore did not want to alienate the Werewolves, as he felt they were too valuable of a tool not to manipulative. Their blood was useful for many dangerous and highly complex dark magical rituals combined with the Elixir of Life from the Philosopher's Stone, which Dumbledore needed to maintain his hundred and fifty nine year old body along with the fact to keep his magical powers from disintegrating completely.

Dumbledore needed to steal the blood from Lupin unknowingly soon as the skin on his hand was beginning to decompose slightly along with some of the skin on the right side of his face. He had to use glamour charms to hide his condition, as the skin was beginning to turn a sickly gray color, hanging onto his bones in places by a few strands of flesh. The rituals required every three years were to sustain this primitive form at this age was becoming rather bothersome but once the item binding his essence was broken, it would return him to his true form from his previous life.

Dumbledore broken out of his thoughts, seeing his gargoyle had been covered with toilet paper again. That was the third time that happened this month. Someone was attempting to play games with Dumbledore but the Headmaster was at a loss of who would do that. After all, he was the greatest wizard the world would ever seen and he could destroy anyone who gets in his way with a few spells, even in his current state.

"Incendio!" screamed Dumbledore angrily, burning the Toilet paper to a crisp before vanishing it wordlessly. When he got his hands the person who was doing this, he would make them wish they had never been born.

Harry and Ginny were talking with Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione at dinner that night. It was the last day before the Holidays and Ginny, Theodore, and Daphne were going home to visit family but Hermione was staying at Hogwarts over the Holidays.

"Did you hear earlier today, Bellatrix Lestrange attempted to attack a teenage boy and a girl in Hogsmeade?" asked Daphne. "The funny part is that there was no causalities and Bellatrix appeared to get knocked around a little bit by the boy before someone called the Dementors."

"No kidding," said Harry mildly. He knew this as the two Bellatrix attacked was Harry and Ginny.

"Yes, Harry, it seemed very strange someone could knock around one of the most dangerous servants of Voldemort and a teenager at that," said Hermione with an accusing look. "It almost sounds like something you would do, Harry."

"Don't be silly Hermione, Harry wouldn't have had time to go into Hogsmeade, he was with me all day," said Ginny.

Hermione just nodded, the fact Harry was with Ginny all day confirmed her suspicions even more. They went together but Hermione barely held her tongue. The stress with the time turner was starting to overwhelm her but she refused to give up her extra class load. Trelawney kept predicting her death daily and the fear that Harry would get himself killed by either Lestrange or Black was becoming more and more prominent. Adding to Hagrid's troubles with the Ministry of Magic, which Harry did not know of all of it due to his current heavy workload with helping Ginny doing her work, doing his work, and Flint's torture sessions disguised as Quidditch practice. It was really amazing Hermione did not snap under the pressure from all she was keeping in.

Dumbledore cautiously opened the Werewolf's office door. He needed to be careful, even if Lupin kept his mind due to the Wolfsbane Potion and was not a snarling beast wanting to kill, Dumbledore could ill afford to be seen.

He looked up and the wolf appeared to be curled up, half asleep. Dumbledore needed to act quickly, as Werewolves tended to have heightened senses.

"Alacritas Glacialis," muttered Dumbledore, putting the wolf in suspended animation for a period of two hours.

Dumbledore looked around, putting silencing charms on the door.

"Incedio," said Dumbledore, burning an area of fur off. "Diffindo."

A simple cutting hex was all that required to open up a cut on the werewolf which was good, as Dumbledore needed the beast alive for other purposes and all the other curses to open flesh up had some kind of silver elements in them. Dumbledore used his wand to siphon the blood as it dripped out into six separate glass vials. Enough for ninety years worth of rituals to sustain this form but even Dumbledore doubted he needed to do the rituals for that long. He already had a contingency plan in place, as apparently his original plan of manipulating Harry into killing Voldemort while Harry sacrificed himself and than using the power that a sacrifice of a savior would give him to be able to touch the artifact despite his condition. Dumbledore still held out hope he could find a way to get Potter under his thumb, but it was not his only plan anymore.

Dumbledore vanished all the excess blood before healing Lupin. The Headmaster quickly walked out, as if he was not there. The wolf would not know a thing as Dumbledore congratulated himself on yet another clever plan.

Christmas day came rather quickly. Harry found himself buried in Christmas gifts from head to toe. It seemed like every student in the first and second year had sent him something along with his friends.

"Damn, Potter, you're popular," said Blaise Zabini the only other Slytherin third year beside Harry who decided to stay. Zabini was rather an enigma in the Slytherin house, choosing not to side with either Harry or Malfoy. He instead preferred to be neutral in all house disputes.

"I've noticed," said Harry, struggling to move all of the presents so he had room to sit on his bed as Zabini left the dormitory to do whatever he did in his spare time.

Harry ripped open his gifts, taking hours to do so. Most of the gifts fell under two categories. The majority of the gifts fell into two categories, sweets or books teaching Advanced Forms of Magic. It seemed they knew what Harry enjoyed and Harry felt pleased. He had but one gift left, buried under the pile. It appeared to be shaped like a broomstick and Harry could not think of who sent it to him.

Harry ripped the paper open, looking at the broom closely. What he saw, floored him?

"I...this is..." stuttered Harry in a loss for words, as he turned over the broom. It was what Harry thought it was. The best broom there ever was, a Firebolt.

Questions entered Harry's mind. Who would get him such an extravagant gift? Harry had been going over buying a Firebolt after the Christmas Holidays. Something was not quite right here, especially when Harry fished through the wrapping paper, finding no card at all to indicate who sent it. Surely, if they did not have evil intentions in mind, they would let Harry know who it was that sent it.

Harry decided to put the Firebolt with the rest of his gifts but he was stopped when three of the younger Slytherin students who had decided to stay over for the Holidays decided to pay him a visit.

"Hi, Harry," said the three students. "Merry Christmas."

"Isabelle, Marie, Johnny, Merry Christmas," said Harry acknowledging three of the students of the many students in the first two years who looked up to him.

Isabelle was a second year, and perhaps one of Ginny's closest friends in the Slytherin house in Ginny's own year. Marie and Johnny were first years. The three of them rather amused Harry, especially Isabelle who was quite hyperactive streak.

Isabelle spotted the one thing Harry had been preparing to hide.

"Harry, that's...that's..." said Isabelle.

"It's a Firebolt," said Johnny helpfully.

"Yes, thank you," said Isabelle excitedly. "The best broom, the most wicked creation ever created, the most awesome..."

"Izzy, Izzy, calm down and quick staring at Harry's broomstick," said Marie shaking her head in amusement.

"I would never do anything like that, Ginny wouldn't be too happy with me for doing something like that, as that would be her job before long," said Isabelle with a wicked grin.

Harry looked confused at this but Johnny and Marie exchanged one of those, "I can't believe she said that" looks.

"Isabelle Elizabeth Martinez, I can't believe you said something that vulgar," said Marie. "Corrupting poor innocent Harry over there."

"Marie Amanda Azura," said Isabelle in a singsong voice. "Jonathan Preston Michaels, Harry James Potter, isn't it nice now we know everyone's full names?"

"Izzy, you're..." said Marie before throwing her hands up in the air in defeat.

"Beautiful, brilliant, fun loving, smart, cool, wicked," said Isabelle helpfully or at least what she thought was helpful.

"No, you're a pain," said Marie.

"Yes, I would have to agree about that fact," said Johnny nodding his head.

"Harry, I'm not a pain, am I," said Isabelle.

"Look a deluxe box of chocolate frogs," said Harry, averting the subject. "And for the record, Ginny and I are just friends, nothing going on between us."

"Right, and I'm Draco Malfoy's mistress," said Isabelle sarcastically before shuddering at the very thought. "And actually I do know that, but you forgot to add the word, yet, to the end of your sentence."

"Isabelle, did you take your medication yet today?" asked Johnny shaking his head.

"I'm not on any medication," said Isabelle. "Why, do you think I'm crazy or something?"

"All in favor of this fact, raise their hands," said Marie, as Johnny and Marie raised their hands into the air. "All abstaining in voting due to not wanting to hurt any feelings, raise their hand."

Harry raised his hand quickly before putting it down. Isabelle glared at everyone in the room before deciding to change the subject.

"Okay, let's get back on the subject of something a bit more pleasant than my looming insanity," said Isabelle. "Seriously Harry, a Firebolt, even through the person riding the broom matters not the broom, you have more to work with now and be more proficient at catching the snitch."

"So obsessed with Quidditch, it's a wonder why you don't try out for the team, Isabelle," said Marie.

"I tried this year actually," said Isabelle sadly. "Flint gave me a dirty look when I actually bothered to show up to tryouts. He asked me why I wasn't learning cooking spells instead of wasting his time so I could make him a sandwich. I would have hexed him if Snape hadn't been sitting in the stands observing. I know I can fly better than those gorillas Flint has for chasers right now."

"This would be a lot easier if someone who did not keep the pure blooded supremacists on the team would be captain," said Harry shaking his head. "If only Flint actually graduates this year, maybe someone could take his place that would actually make the team more relying on talent and less on brute voice."

"Harry, maybe it would be a good idea if you were Quidditch Captain," said Johnny.

"Me, Quidditch Captain," said Harry in disbelief. The thought of it was ludicrous yet rather appealing. It definitely was better than Harry's overwhelming fear that he would be prefect during his fifth year and would have to sell out to be an authority figure.

"Yes, you, I mean the Slytherin Team, despite winning the last eight years, have been made a mockery out of by the school," said Marie. "Harry, you do have a good eye for potential."

"Yes and I could actually be on the team," said Isabelle bouncing up and down in excitement.

"You're scary sometimes, you know that," said Marie shaking her head. "I still haven't figured out what you did to Pansy Parkinson."

"Yeah, what exactly did you do to her that made her whimper every time someone came up behind her," said Johnny.

"She deserved it, she was attempting to spread rumors about Ginny that I'm not going to even dignify with a response," said Isabelle. "She wouldn't shut up, with that grating annoying voice that makes you want to long for a dying cat in a hailstorm, I sort of had one of the those bursts of spontaneous accidental magic that spooked her. I'm not really quite sure what I did, although I hope it was rather traumatic for her."

"She deserved it," said Harry darkly. "It seems like Parkinson, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle are the only students under fourth year who seem to be the problem. I think she may be trying to impress Malfoy a little bit."

"They deserve each other," said Isabelle. "I mean, one's a bitch and then there's Pansy."

"I can't believe you said that," said Marie shaking her head. "Degrading female dogs everywhere by comparing Draco Malfoy to one of them. Kind of insulting if you ask me."

"Sorry, it was a temporary lapse of judgment," said Isabelle. "Won't ever happen, I promise."

Isabelle crossed her fingers behind her back, with a smirk on her face when she said that last sentence which caused the others to laugh. Harry's life was never dull, as he seemed to always befriend some of the more interesting and unique people in Hogwarts in addition to his constant brushes with death.

During the day, Harry spent a little time with his family. Raph seemed rather ready to get out of Hogwarts and return to New York to finish their business with the Foot but Master Splinter decided they should wait it out a few more months, making the Shredder think that they perished in the explosion. Harry thought this was a brilliant plan, as Saki would not expect an attack from an enemy that he thought to be dead. If all went right, they would make a trip back to New York to mount an all out assault on the Foot at the end of the school year.

That night at Christmas dinner, Harry along with the three younger year Slytherins, Hermione, and Zabini sat down at the Head table. As there were so few, Dumbledore decided it was a foolish idea to use the house tables. Harry did not feel joining Dumbledore for dinner would be in his best interests, but he scanned the food and the drinks for foreign potions or spells. Even on Christmas, Harry was not going to let anyone get the drop on him. In addition to Isabelle, Johnny, Marie, Hermione, Harry, and Zabini, Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape along with Hagrid and Filch were seated at the table.

"Oh no, she's coming over," muttered Hermione in horror halfway through.

"Ah it's the infamous Professor Trelawney," said Isabelle getting a mischievous look on her face. "My older brother who was in Ravenclaw when he went here had Trelawney during her first year of teaching. She was a fraud then and she seems to be even more so."

"Ah, Sibyll," said Dumbledore with a calculating expression. "This is a pleasant surprise."

"Headmaster, I had foreseen myself leaving my tower to come and join you all for this meal," said Trelawney. "Who am I to mock the leanings of fate?"

Harry rolled his eyes. Was this woman for real?

"Do join us then," said Snape sneering. "Your company would be much...enjoyable."

"I think not Severus," said Trelawney looking horrified. "If I were to join there would be thirteen of us. The first to rise would be the first to die."

"We shall risk it then," said McGonagall dryly. "Do sit down, Sibyll before the food gets cold."

Trelawney reluctantly sat down before gazing upon Harry.

"Harry Potter, I must say it was surprising not to see you enrolled in my class," said Trelawney. "Surely you understand the importance of perfecting the noble art of Divination, as darkness looms everywhere, marking you and causing you to be threatened by great evil."

"Harry Potter, threatened by great evil, who would have thought something like that would happen," said Hermione sarcastically. "Oh wait, there was that time You-Know-Who tried to kill him. And that other time You-Know-Who tried to kill him. And the time after that, last year in the Chamber of Secrets. I think I may be missing one, but I'm not quite sure."

Harry privately thought that being friends with mostly Slytherins was starting to turn Hermione a bit moody and sarcastic.

"The darkness still marks you, my dear girl, growing ever stronger and through the..."started Trelawney before Isabelle sighed and stood up. "My dear, you stood up at a table for thirteen, you shall die!"

Isabelle sat back down, rolling her eyes before exchanging looks with Hermione, Harry, Johnny, and Marie. They were going to have fun pulling a prank to screw with the Divination Professor's head.

"Thirteen are dining once again," said Trelawney. "The next person to rise will be..."

Johnny stood up before sitting back down. Trelawney's eyes bulged out before Marie stood up and sat down. Then Harry stood up and sat back down, making sure thirteen.

"This is too much," said Trelawney. "You shall all die, all of you. Standing at a table set for thirteen is..."

"I'm standing!" said Isabelle in a singsong voice before sitting back down.

"Oh my, it's doom," said Hermione, standing up before sitting down.

"Chaos, bedlam, death, and prophecies of doom," said Isabelle standing up with a mischievous. "All the elements of good dinner entertainment."

This went on for some time as McGonagall looked torn between amusement and handing out detentions for disrupting the meal. Dumbledore put his head in his hands, as he felt frustrated at not being able to do anything to put a stop to this. It seemed Harry had become more popular recently, with the majority of the students third year and below with a few exceptions looking at Harry as there leader. It reminded Dumbledore of a young Tom Riddle, except Harry actually cared for his young friends and that is what worried Dumbledore more than anything Voldemort could do as Dumbledore could feel himself slowly lose influence with the youth of the Wizarding World.

Hagrid and Flitwick looked rather amused and Snape tried desperately not to ruin his reputation by laughing at Trelawney's misfortune. Filch looked sullen as usual. Zabini just sat there, pretending nothing was happening.

"I can't take it anymore!" screamed Trelawney. "I am returning to my tower where there is sanity in this world."

Trelawney sprang up from the table as Hermione and Harry exchanged mock looks of horror.

"Oh my, Professor, you just rose from the table of thirteen," said Marie in amusement. "That means you will be dying first."

Trelawney stalked off, looking rather disturbed at their antics.

"I think we broke her," said Johnny looking amused.

"A pity," said Isabelle sarcastically before dinner went on without further incident.

Later that night, Harry's paranoia got the better of him and he decided to take the Firebolt to Snape's office. Harry knocked on Snape's door.

"Enter," said Snape calmly before Harry walked in, his Firebolt under his arm. "Potter, what is the purpose of this visit?"

"Professor, I had been sent this as a Christmas present and there was not a note indicating who sent it or anything," said Harry.

"Do continue Potter," said Snape.

"I am wondering if someone may have decided to sent me a jinxed broom so I could get myself killed," said Harry.

"An excellent Slytherin line of thought, Mr. Potter," said Snape. "With Black and Lestrange on the loose and Gringotts not restricting access of the vaults for convicted felons. All the goblins care about is money, so they could care less if something is guilty as sin, but I am getting off the subject. I will have this broom checked for any jinxes, Potter and if it is acceptable enough, it will be returned to you at the earliest possible time. I bid you good bye."

Harry nodded, walking out of Snape's office. The rest of Christmas holidays went by rather quickly. Harry was ready for his classes to start back up again and more importantly learning how to fight Dementors with Professor Lupin.


	15. Chapter 15: Life Goes On

**Chapter Fifteen: Life Goes On**

The first Defense Against the Dark Arts Lesson was rather interesting, as Lupin had begun a unit on Vampires for the new term. This was scheduled to take them through the end of the year and the following year Lupin said that they would start learning about some of the lower level Dark Magic and the defense tactics that go along with it. Harry could hardly wait, as when learning about magic, there was a chance he could learn something new he could use in a practical situation such as getting jumped by crazed ex-Death Eaters when going to Hogsmeade with one of his friends.

After Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Harry decided he would remind Lupin of his promise to teach Harry how to defend himself against Dementors.

"Ah yes Harry, rest assure I haven't forgotten and have been giving the matter a great deal of thought," commented Lupin lightly. "How does Eight O' Clock in the History of Magic Classroom on Thursday nights sound?"

It was perfect, as Flint usually on his worst nights let out Quidditch Practice around Seven Thirty.

"That sounds good, Professor," responded Harry. "I suppose I'll see you then."

"Yes, Harry, but you better hurry off or you'll be late for your next lesson," said Lupin.

Harry nodded before hurrying off. Lupin had a strange feeling despite the Patronus being one of the most difficult light magic spells to master, Harry would not rest until he would learned with complete perfection.

Harry was walking to the hallways when he heard a heated argument.

"Hermione, you better tell that cat of yours to lay off Scabbers!" screamed the angry voice of Ron Weasley. "That thing's a menace and poor Scabbers is nothing but skin and bones because that fur ball is stalking it."

"Honestly, Ronald, all cats chase rats, Crookshanks doesn't know it's wrong to attack Scabbers," said Hermione in an exasperated voice.

"Control that cat, or I'll control him for you, Hermione," threatened Ron angrily.

"Is that a threat, Weasley?" asked Hermione in a dangerous voice.

Harry winced; she had been spending too much time with other Slytherins. He heard snickering behind him and Isabelle and Ginny were laughing at the argument.

"What's so funny exactly?" asked Harry calmly.

"It seems like little Ronniekins fancies Hermione," said Isabelle in a mischievous tone of voice. "Seriously, he is following her around all the time. Kind of scary at times, don't you think?"

"Poor Ron, he's in for a bit of a disappointment as Hermione still hasn't forgiven him for how he treated you during your first couple of years at Hogwarts, Harry, even if you don't really care anymore," added Ginny shaking her head.

"Meaning?" asked Harry.

"Hermione doesn't like Ron at all due to what he pulled last year," said Isabelle. "She should be storming in looking ticked off right about...now."

Hermione came storming in, looking rather agitated.

"Honestly, he does not get the point at all, if he kept a better eye on that rat, he would not worry about Crookshanks going after it all the time," ranted Hermione.

Harry walked off to Transfiguration, letting Hermione rant on to dead air. It seemed Hermione was starting to slowly crack underneath the stress of taking too many classes. Harry had not had any chance to research methods Hermione could be using to take multiple classes at once with all the other things he had on his plate at the moment.

In his office, Dumbledore prepared to undergo the ritual. Dumbledore looked on his hand, which was giving a decaying odor for the past couple of weeks. His skin was beginning to rot off the bones from his hand again. Dumbledore had been undergoing these rituals so he could keep this primitive form past the time when most antiques began decaying. His primitive body died sometime during the 1970s but thanks his foresight of using the Elixir of Life and some extremely dark rituals decades earlier, he managed to keep this weak form from decaying too badly by performing the rituals every three years. The only draw back was Dumbledore could not perform complex bits of magic without taking several weeks off as his magic was severely weakened in this form. Once the artifact was destroyed, Dumbledore could shelve this half-life and return to the glory he had during a previous existence.

Dumbledore opened up his cabinet, pushing the Pensieve to one side before he pulled a switch back that looked like a human skull, revealing a secret space behind the cabinet that contained the Pensieve. The Headmaster looked at the bones scattered among the floor. Bellatrix Lestrange's recent killing spree had been a blessing in disguise as Dumbledore acquired quite a bit of supple, young human flesh during some grave robbing to last him until the three years before he had to do this ritual again.

Dumbledore walked over to the clear vase with the werewolf blood and Elixir of Life mixture bubbling in it. Waving his wand, three tubes shot out of it. Dumbledore stuck one end of the first tube into the vase and the other onto his right arm. The second tube was fastened onto his left arm before getting fused into the table with human flesh lying on it, arranged to fit Dumbledore's exact body size and structure. The third tube was attached to Dumbledore's head all the way to his wand. Dumbledore then started a time delay charm, as the old skin from his primitive would rot to dust before the new skin would be fused to his bones. The werewolf blood and Elixir of Life mixture would be the glue that sustains the primitive form that Dumbledore was currently cursed with.

Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione were eating dinner. Harry had yet to join them at this moment. Their conversation was disrupted when an owl delivered a note. Hermione took it, before reading it with a bit of a disappointed look on her face.

"Malfoy got what he wanted, Buckbeak is being put on trial by the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures," said Hermione in a low voice.

"I'm actually surprised it took this long," said Daphne. "Lucius Malfoy normally gets what he wants from the Ministry straight away."

"I believe it's because the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures is dealing with an outbreak of werewolf attacks," said Theodore. "Another nine were turned during the last full moon, twelve were killed. It seems Greyback is behind this."

"He's horrible," said Daphne shuddering. "I remembering overhearing my parents talking about him, You-Know-Who used to set him against people who would not join him."

"Back to Hagrid," said Hermione. "He obviously needs help to research this case so he can get Buckbeak cleared..."

"Hermione, I really hate to break this to you, but Buckbeak is not getting cleared," said Daphne. "Lucius Malfoy will make sure of that, he has quite a few friends in that department especially."

"It's hopeless, Hermione," said Theodore dismally.

"What's hopeless?" asked Luna who had appeared at the Slytherin Table.

"Nothing, Luna," said Hermione a little too quickly.

"Okay, Hermione, if you say so," said Luna not really believing her. "I do have something to ask. Have any of you seen Harry or Ginny recently?"

"No, I haven't," said Hermione frowning. "It's very strange for either Harry or Ginny to be gone for this long. Harry has Quidditch practice after Dinner."

At this moment, Harry and Ginny were deep down in the chamber underneath the Slytherin library. Ginny had begged Harry relentlessly about training her in ninjitsu and Harry reluctantly gave in. Harry saw potential in his friend but he still was afraid she would get in over her head if she thought she could handle herself with just a little bit of training.

"Okay Ginny, against my better judgment, I am going to train you in Ninjitsu," said Harry in a tense voice. "First of all, let me make one thing perfectly clear to you. An enemy, no matter how harmless they seem, should never be taken for granted and you should never overestimate your own skills. Many have taken on more than they can handle and it is costly."

"Harry, I understand exactly where you are going and I agree no one should be underestimated. If nothing else, the incident with the diary taught me that" said Ginny shuddering in remembrance of her first year and also wondering if Harry was talking about the mysterious attack that happened over the summer to Harry that her friend was vague on details with.

"For proper methods of attack, you need to learn how to focus your mind and meditation is the most common method in accomplishing this task," lectured Harry, as everyone of Master Splinter's lessons were burned into his memory and he could remember them as if they were lesson. This was one of the first things Splinter told him about Ninjitsu.

Ginny nodded, paying more attention to Harry than she did for the majority of her classes. She had only being instructed by Harry for a few minutes but Ginny already felt he was perhaps one of the best teachers she had ever had, just eclipsing Lupin by a small margin. Than again, as Harry was her friend, Ginny felt she might have been a little biased.

"Sit down Ginny, relax your mind," said Harry in a soft voice. "Let thought flow in and out of your mind naturally, under no circumstances, don't strain yourself to focus, allow it to occur in a gradual cycle. Failure to do this may have dire consequences."

Ginny obeyed Harry, sitting down as Harry did the same. Her mind was still recovering slightly from the mess involving the diary and she inadvertently pulled some shadowed partial memories that made her scream out in horror. Ginny then knew what Harry meant by dire consequences and wished she had heeded his warning.

"Ginny, calm yourself, relax," said Harry although he seemed rather frightened at his friend screaming in horror in that manner. "Try and ease your mind away from the diary, your obsession with burying Tom will not allow you to focus, as with every attempt to bury him, the focus comes back to him. I cannot teach you any defensive or offense fighting unless you do that Ginny."

Ginny relaxed her mind, attempting to not let the darkness of what happened in the past consume her with hatred for Voldemort as Harry had put it in the weeks following the diary. By the end of their hour together, Ginny managed to arrange her mind to focus a little better and burying the diary incident deep within her memories became less of a priority.

"I think you have had enough for today, Ginny," said Harry quietly.

"I think I should practice some more tomorrow. Please, Harry?" pleaded Ginny, looking up at Harry.

Harry avoided looking at Ginny's eyes, as he knew his will power would weaken for reasons he could not figure out if he did. He must put separate his ability to teach and his friendship, so Ginny could learn the art of Ninjitsu properly at a slow, acceptable pace, and not an accelerated rate that would leave her prone to mistakes.

"No Ginny, you need a couple of days to reflect upon what I've told you," responded Harry sternly. "I don't want to teach you any more than you can handle in a short amount of time. There's so much I can teach you but at the same time there's also still so much I have yet to learn."

Harry and Ginny left the chamber underneath the Slytherin library, walking in silence. From what Harry could tell, Ginny seemed to pick the first lesson up more quickly than he could have ever expected. The only thing that tore Harry apart was how he had to let the lesson settle in for a couple of days and not get to spend time alone with Ginny for that hour. Plus, he was going to start his lessons with Professor Lupin to try and combat the Dementors.

That Thursday, Hermione, Daphne, Theodore, and Harry were talking during the third year break period.

"From what the Daily Prophet says, it seems like things of dark orientation are getting restless," said Daphne. "Between the Werewolf attacks, the Dementors becoming more horrid..."

"As if they are not horrid enough right now," responded Harry with a shudder.

"And the Hogsmeade attacks are still going on," said Daphne.

"It's almost like they feel like there is going to be something big involving You-Know-Who," said Hermione. "Lestrange and Black, two high ranking Death Eaters, also broke out of Azkaban, all these little things seem to be leading to something big."

"Voldemort could come back," said Harry, ignoring the shudders from the other three. "I am very uneasy that nothing sinister has been happening that would connect back with Voldemort this year."

"You-Know-Who has been rather quiet recently," said Theodore. "After the Stone, his present self seems to have vanished into oblivion."

"Although there have been those horrid Albania rumors," said Daphne.

"What are those?" asked Hermione.

"There have been a lot of mysterious disappearances in a forest in Albania," explain Theodore. "The last one's were a pair of Muggle hikers just a month before this year. The Muggle authorities have cautioned people not to go into the forest at all. It is pretty much an accepted fact that whatever is left of You-Know-Who is carrying out the attacks."

Harry closed his eyes, it could sense something coming, something rather evil. The reality struck Harry hard; he needed to allow Voldemort to come back to full strength in order to defeat him once and for all. Fate, as much as Harry disagreed with its existence, mandated several things to happen and one them apparently was Voldemort bringing himself back from his spectral form.

"He'll be back at some point unfortunately and even more unfortunately at full strength," declared Harry in a quiet voice. "Whether it be next week, next month, next year, but he will come back and attempt to finish what he started."

"Harry this's..." said Hermione anxiously, not able to find words.

"He won't beat me, I won't let him do it," said Harry definitely. "Maybe there was a point last year when the majority of the school seemed to hate me due to that Chamber of Secrets mess but not now. I have way too much to lose."

Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione seemed unable to respond to what Harry was saying so Harry continued.

"To many people, I am the Wizarding World," continued Harry. "As much as I hate my fame, it is no longer an issue with the younger members of the Wizarding World. It is only an issue with the press and the politicians. I could care less what they think."

"Yes, but Harry they can be very powerful and could become yet another opponent for you," cautioned Daphne.

"Much like the Voldemort thing, I'll cross the bridge when I come to it," answered Harry. "The Dementors, Black, Lestrange, Voldemort, and everything else that attempts to destroy me, I could care less about. I won't live my life in fear!"

After all of these months, Harry had finally got what his dreams had been trying to tell him. He had to fight Voldemort, his Death Eaters, and assorted dark creatures that decided to join him. If he went down, then the entire Wizarding World went with him. If he failed to live his life, then the entire Wizarding World would fail in living theirs. One thing for sure, it was not the other way around. The Ministry of Magic could crumble and Harry would not be the least bit affected. If anything, there was a chance Harry's life could improve.

The only thing Harry worried about now was that infernal block Dumbledore placed on his power. He needed it removed, not for his own benefit but to protect his friends and family. Harry needed every bit of his magic at his disposal should he ever face off against Voldemort.

In the History of Magic classroom at Eight O'clock, Harry arrived, prepared to master the spell Lupin was going to teach him to defend against the Dementors. Lupin arrived a few moments later, carrying a suitcase. Seeing Harry's inquiring expression, Lupin decided to tell Harry what he was planning.

"For obvious reasons, I could not acquire a real Dementor to bring in the castle," explained Lupin. "Therefore, we will have to use a Boggart due to your greatest fear being a Dementor. When the Boggart sees you, it will change into a Dementor."

Harry nodded, as Lupin decided to continue.

"The spell I am going to teach you is extremely advanced, Harry," said Lupin. "Few witches and wizards have ever mastered it, due to their powers being depleted in the presence of a Dementor. This is way beyond anything that will be taught at Hogwarts. Now, the incantation for the spell is Expecto Patronum and the spell is called the Patronus. It conjures something that formed by a happy memory that will help distract the Dementor. If powerful enough, the spell will drive a Dementor away from the caster."

Lupin paused for a few seconds to allow what he said to soak in.

"Now, I would like you to take a moment and think of a happy memory, Harry," said Lupin

Harry thought long and hard for a memory. The first time he mastered a ninjitsu technique that Master Splinter had taught him seemed promising.

"Okay, Harry, think of that memory and say the incantation," said Lupin.

"Expecto Patronum," said Harry holding his wand. Some kind of silver mist came out.

"Excellent for a first try, Harry, most only manage a few sparks, even without a live Dementor," said Lupin. "Now, ready to try it with the Boggart."

Harry nodded, bracing himself for the Dementor, attempting to partially block their effects at the very least. Lupin pointed his wand towards his suitcase, before causing it to open. The Dementor came out of the briefcase.

_"Voldemort, you will not have him," said a female voice. "Please not Harry, if you have any humility left, you will kill me instead." _

_"Stand aside you silly Mudblood girl," said a second voice, this one cold, dark, and brooding. "The boy will die, quit stalling for time and stand aside so I can kill him. No matter what obscure forms of magic you learned as an Unspeakable of the Department of Mysteries, you will not stop Lord Voldemort. It is my fate to rule the Wizarding World and you will not tamper with it, Lily Potter" _

_"Kill me instead, do it Voldemort," said Lily. "I'm just another person in your way, one less person that you have to deal with. Unless you're not the Dark Lord everyone fears and are instead a gutless coward who can't even kill a twenty one year old girl." _

_"You will pay for that remark, Mudblood," hissed Voldemort. "You have been a thorn in my side too much and for too long. AVADA KEDAVRA!" _

Harry attempted to jerk himself out of that horrible night when Voldemort killed his parents and force himself to remember his memory.

"Expecto Patronum," muttered Harry weakly but he could get nothing. He fell to his knees, attempting one last vain attempt but the mock Dementor seemed to overwhelm him.

Lupin blasted the case shut, looking at Harry with a bit of concern.

"I didn't expect you to get it the first time with an actual Dementor," said Lupin before handing him a Chocolate frog. "Better eat that, it will replenish your strength."

Harry ate the chocolate frog. He realized it was moments before Voldemort killed his mother but Voldemort mentioning tampering with fate had chilled him to the bone. Perhaps he should have died that night; perhaps he was not supposed to live. Or perhaps Voldemort was just rambling on with psychotic delusions and Harry was being paranoid attempting to tie that night into the two times he heard fate was tampered with in the past from first the Centaurs and then Fawkes. Harry decided he would gain nothing by dwelling on the past and gave his head a shake to clear his mind of these vicious thoughts.

"Perhaps another memory would be better, Harry," said Lupin. "Try again."

Harry closed his eyes, fishing for another memory. The relief that he felt when Ginny was safe from Riddle smacked him in the face. It was so obvious, that he did not even think of it before. Then, Harry had a wild theory. How would a Patronus turn out if he focused on a person, as opposed to a memory?

"Now, Harry, before we try this again, I am going to ask you if you want to go on with this," said Lupin. "I shouldn't have really showed you this, as it was a complex bit of magic."

"Professor, I have to learn," said Harry in a definite voice.

Lupin waved his wand and the fake Dementor popped up out of the briefcase again, sucking all the life out from the air around it and flexing it's scaly fingers towards Harry. Harry was hit with another wave of darkness.

_"Like the Phoenix I have risen from the ashes and into my fire you shall..._

"Expecto Patronum!" cried Harry; focusing on Ginny with every bit of his mind he could muster. A silver undefined but still solid form shot out of his wand, backing off the Dementor.

"Harry that was incredible," remarked Lupin, fighting hard to keep favoritism out of his voice. "I have never seen a solid but undefined Patronus against a Dementor, rather fake or otherwise. It's normally mist for several weeks."

Harry sank down; he channeled a lot of magic. Too much magic, if Harry cared enough to dwell on the matter for too often. That block was going to be the death of him, especially when he reached a point where he could only use the limited amount of magic he had at his disposal.

Remus saw Harry's tired expression. He threw a lot into that one spell and that is what worried Remus.

"Harry, I believe we should conclude for tonight," said Remus, handing Harry a large bar of chocolate. "Eat all of this, you should feel better after eating that piece of chocolate and having a good night sleep."

Harry ate the chocolate before walking from the History of Magic classroom. Thoughts entered his mind, flowing in and out, but the most perplexing thing was the memory of when Voldemort murdered his mother. Voldemort seemed to want to spare her for some reason but Lily had basically goaded Voldemort into throwing that killing curse at her. Almost a strange thing, as if Lily did some kind of spell work that sealed Voldemort's fate once he killed her.

Fate was a strange thing. Black betrayed Harry's parents, sending Voldemort to them and that indirectly caused Voldemort's downfall by Harry on that Halloween night.

No matter what happened in the past, whether it is all what it seemed or not, life goes on each and every day each with separate surprises.

Harry went to sleep, vowing not to dwell on the past, rather look forward to what the future would bring, whether it be good or bad. Then, as it happened, Harry prepared to meet what came head on.


	16. Chapter 16: Discovery

**Chapter Sixteen: Discovery**

Winter slowly turned into spring and the big Quidditch Match between Hufflepuff and Slytherin was drawing closer. It was scheduled to be the last day before the Easter Holidays. One day, Professor Snape held Harry behind after Potions to give him some good news.

"Potter, I have had your broom inspected for some of the more sinister and nasty hexes out there, along with some minor ones that are overblown by the general public into being dangerous due to sensitivity issues," informed Snape. "Nothing is wrong with the broom. I have checked and double-checked it, and it all checks out. So, I am giving this back to you Potter and I will remind you that the Quidditch House Cup has become a part of my office as much as my potion ingredients over the last eight years. So I need not tell you to win or you will suffer my displeasure."

Harry took the Firebolt back, itching to ride it now it was deemed safe by Professor Snape. The look on Flint's face would be priceless, as Harry had not informed the Slytherin captain or any of his teammates about the broomstick he mysteriously received for Christmas.

Harry looked back at all that happened recently. Ginny was really excelling at the ninjitsu lessons Harry was teaching her, although there were a few stumbling blocks here and there, funnily enough almost like the ones Harry had when he started his training. Still the potential was there, Ginny just had to hone her skills. Last lesson, Harry very reluctantly broke out the weapons, with stern warnings Harry would drop the training should word reach his ears Ginny had attacked one of her brothers using her newfound skills. Harry remembered that night well.

_"Harry, it's almost like you don't trust me not to..." started Ginny before she burst out laughing. A couple of months ago, she might have done what Harry was saying but her temper seemed to be kept more in check these days, able to hold in outbursts. Of course, if Ginny ever did lose her temper, it would be ten times worse than it could have been. Almost like Harry was like on the rare occasions he got mad. _

_"Ginny, I trust you, it's just that, I'm just giving you the standard lecture on weapon's usage," said Harry. "It's in the handbook." _

_"What handbook Harry?" asked Ginny, looking puzzled at why she had not heard of this handbook before. _

_"The handbook that I'm making up in my head as we go," replied Harry. "Now, the thing about weapons is this. No one should know you have these weapons concealed on you, until they are to be used. Of course, there are always alternate weapons. My own personal strategy is to have my main weapon visible, with several secondary smaller and concealed weapons just in case my main weapon gets lost or destroyed. Even then it may not be enough." _

_Harry was of course inferring about how he ran through his entire run of weapons during the Chamber. If it wasn't for Fawkes bringing the hat, which contained Slytherin's Blade, Harry would not have been alive to tell the tale. He went on describing several different types of weapons to Ginny, the functions they can used for, and what one's he had used in the past. Harry and Ginny agreed both that something small but dangerous would probably be the best for Ginny's temperament. The weapon known as Tonfa, an eight-inch wooden club like weapon seemed to be the best thing Harry could come up with on short notice. _

Harry remembered how his Patronus lessons with Lupin were coming along, as his Patronus still did not have a distinct form but it was more defined then the mist most people could only hope to accomplish. Lupin told Harry that he had confidence that should the Dementors attack Harry, that Harry's Patronus would be enough to keep them at bay so Harry could get safely away. Of course, Harry was not satisfied, but he decided not to say anything. If all of the Dementors disappeared off the face of the earth, Harry's life would be a whole lot easier.

Harry was walking with his Firebolt, to return it in his room, when he heard the sound of voices.

"My father will be very pleased indeed, getting that stupid buzzard executed," said the snide voice of Draco Malfoy. "A little gold does go a long way, especially with those greedy fools at the Ministry of Magic."

Harry heard the chuckling of Crabbe, Goyle, and a couple of ill tempered Sixth Year Slytherins he did not know but were definitely part of the small, dwindling portion of the Slytherin house that still subscribed to Malfoy's beliefs.

"All will be going as plan, then once I have gained the respect of everyone in the Slytherin house, I will be the leader of this hose and not Potter," said Malfoy. "After all, I'm going up against Dumbledore's prized pet that should mean I should be respected."

Harry decided Malfoy was talking about Buckbeak but Harry had not heard anything about Buckbeak's fate since the incident and fact he had not been able to visit Hagrid due to the security constrictions on the castle, mostly concerning him.

"Harry, what did Snape..." asked Hermione who had came back around with Daphne and Theodore but saw Harry ready to kill someone.

"Buckbeak is going to be executed," whispered Harry in a low voice.

Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione all exchanged uneasy looks. How did Harry find out about this? The three of them had been helping Hagrid with his defense for the case for a few months and the trial was scheduled a couple of days before Easter.

"Harry, we really didn't want to bother you with anything," said Daphne.

"How long have you known?" asked Harry in an emotionless tone of voice.

"Since January," said Theodore bracing himself for the worst. Harry was not exactly a pleasant person to be around when he got upset.

"We really wanted to tell you, but you were just getting out of your unstable state of mind," said Hermione. "You have to understand, Harry, we didn't want you..."

"I understand, Hermione," said Harry in a disappointed voice that left Hermione wishing Harry would have shouted, as she felt two inches tall. "Thank you for being honest, even if it was a few months late. So I don't blow up at you and tell you all to go to hell for keeping information from me, I will leave right now and talk to you later when I have calmed down."

Harry walked off, leaving Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione staring at him.

"You know, I kind of wish he would have attempted to kill us," remarked Theodore.

"Yeah, that calm, cool, disappointed voice is kind of scary, scarier then when Harry attempted to remove Malfoy's eye with a fork earlier this year," added Daphne shuddering at the memory.

Hermione said nothing but slumped against the wall exhausted. For the first time, she wondered if she was taking on too much, with that time turner. She could not sleep at night, having horrific nightmares about doing something accidentally that would alter time for the worse. The time turner was starting to play tricks with Hermione, but Hermione's own sense of common sense was defeated time and time again by her own stubbornness to see everything through to the bitter end. Even if doing this drove her to the point of insanity.

Harry's new Firebolt had caused a great stir within the school, giving him even more attention with the younger students of the Slytherin House as well as some students from other houses. This fact caused Malfoy to becoming more irritated at the fact that the control of the Slytherin House was slowly slipping from his slimy hands. In Harry's opinion, Malfoy deserved a lonely and friendless existence, after all of the rotten things he said, most of these regarding Ginny, and did over the past few years. More or less, Draco Malfoy had no one to blame but himself for steadily drop of influence within the Slytherin House.

The day of the Quidditch Match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff arrived. Slytherin, despite their victory last time, was second place in the Quidditch House Cup standings behind Ravenclaw. This fact ate away at Flint and it caused him to work the team more viciously then ever.

Flint did not even bother with a victory speech, just growling at his team and gritting his teeth. Harry looked at Flint, he could not leave Hogwarts soon enough. The Slytherin Team came out, ready for action. The crowd cheered the loudest for Harry when he came out.

"The destruction of Harry Potter's Nimbus 2000 was a great loss for the Slytherin Team or so it seemed," said Lee Jordan over the magical megaphone. "However, Potter acquired a Firebolt broom recently. The Firebolt's the best broom on the market, its speed unmatched by..."

"JORDAN!" yelled Professor McGonagall. "Quit talking about the Firebolt and get on with the match."

"Right Professor," said Lee. "Anyway, Hufflepuff is about to score, oh Boyle just whacked Chaser Smith in the back with a beater bat. That was a no good, low, dirty by that slimy..."

"Jordan, I'm warning you," ordered McGonagall.

Madam Hooch awarded Hufflepuff a foul, which Bletchley blocked. Harry circled the pitch, followed closely by the Hufflepuff Seeker, Cedric Diggory. His Firebolt was easily the fastest broom on the pitch and due to Harry's own talent in flying that had made him even more of a tough person to beat.

Harry ducked underneath a bludger whacked towards him before he saw one of the Hufflepuff chasers put a goal past Bletchley. Flint looked irate.

"Bletchley get on the ball!" thundered Flint. "Bole, Derrick, assault them with everything you've got. Potter, find that damn snitch before they get too far ahead."

Harry flew up into the air, with Diggory quickly marking him. Slytherin managed to tie the game up ten-ten before Harry dodged underneath another bludger. Harry was determined to have one Quidditch game without an attempt on his life.

"Potter seems to be on the trail of the Snitch, no doubt due to his excellent Firebolt, whose acceleration factor is..."

"JORDAN! Are you being paid to advertise Firebolts or being paid to do commentary?"

Harry saw the snitch hovering by the Hufflepuff bleachers. Shooting up, Harry went after the Snitch, his hand extended outwards. Diggory was close towards him but there was no way he could catch Harry. Harry clasped the snitch in his hand. As a result, the Slytherin supporters went into an explosion of cheers, the match ending A Hundred and Sixty to Ten, in favor of Slytherin.

Later that night, Harry was wandering the hallways when he ran into Hermione. Hermione looked rather tired, with dark rings underneath her eyes, and it looked like she hadn't slept in days.

Hermione looked up at Harry. Despite Harry being civil with her, Daphne, and Theodore, she still felt extremely guilty not telling Harry about Buckbeak's fate sooner.

"Harry, I'm really sorry about not telling you about Buckbeak," said Hermione, barely able to suppress a yawn.

"I got over not being informed a long time ago but right now that's not the point. Your current condition due to your class load appears to be taking its toll on you, Hermione. Basically, Hermione you look like the living dead," said Harry. Hermione opened her mouth to say something but Harry cut her off by raising his hand. "No seriously, Hermione, when's the last time you got a good night sleep?"

"What's the date today, Harry?" asked Hermione, barely able to keep herself standing.

"Hermione, you're taking way too many classes, you are going to end up killing yourself," said Harry. "Still I wonder what could...of course why didn't I think of it sooner?"

Hermione winced, Harry had figured out what had been going on.

"Hermione, you've been using a time turner," whispered Harry looking horrified at the very thought. Harry remembered reading about this in a book about rare and sometimes dangerous magical objects. Several people using time turners extensively had been known to go mad due to not being able to keep two separate lives apart.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about, Harry," said Hermione looking rather unconvincing, attempting not to break out into tears.

"That is the only way you have been taking two classes at once for several periods," said Harry. "Hermione, I want you to think long and hard about what you're doing. I won't make you give up the time turner, as it's out of my hands but if you have any shard of common sense left in you, you'll drop the time turner, at the very least at the end of this year."

Before Hermione could answer, Ron came storming down the corridor, looking rather angered, while clutching something cloth like in his hand.

"Hermione, your cat finally managed to do it!" snapped Ron his eyes widened in anger. "I told you, I warned you he was after Scabbers but you would not listen and look at...look at this."

Ron thrust a torn piece of bed sheet with blood on it, looking rather moody. Also there appeared to be several hairs that might belong to a ginger cat on them.

"You think Crookshanks did this," whispered Hermione, looking about ready to cry. The time turner was slowly unhinging her sanity, bit by bit, maybe she should give it up like Harry said.

"That's exactly what I am thinking!" yelled Ron, unable to keep his temper in check. Hermione looked about ready to lose her temper as well and Harry decided to slowly wander off. He did not want to witness this, especially when Hermione went off due to pressure of being under the time turner.

"Ronald, if you kept a better eye on Scabbers, none of this would have happened!" screamed Hermione angrily. "But sure if you want, blame me. After all everything is my bloody fault!"

Hermione turned and stormed off. Ron was left in her wake, wondering if he said too much to Hermione.

"Hermione, I..." said Ron, not wondering what he could possibly say.

A few days after the Easter Holidays, there seemed to be a great state of restlessness. In the Room of Requirement, Raph and Mikey were starting to get a little stir crazy from not being able to go out. Harry had put the kibosh on any wanderings in the corridors, due to the fact he feared Dumbledore would be looking out for anything suspicious due to the pranks that were done to him earlier in the year.

"I can't take it anymore!" yelled Mikey. "All this being in one area. I need to explore, I'm bored!"

"Yes, I heard you and I rather agree," said Raph. "Master Splinter is dead set on not leaving until the end of the year. I need to stretch my legs, maybe pick a fight or two."

Don was working on his calculation methods of making Muggle electronics work in a heavy magical environment such as Hogwarts or the Ministry of Magic. He threw his pencil down in frustration, he was not getting anywhere in this, the calculations would be a lot easier once he was back with his computer in New York.

"I say we go out for five minutes," suggested Don. "After all, what can happen in a period of five minutes? We're ninjas, we can sneak around and not being seen. It should be a piece of cake to not let anyone see us."

"You know, I don't see the harm of doing that," commented Mikey. "Come on, let's go exploring."

"Yeah but only five minutes, no doubt Leo, Master Splinter, and Harry will all flip if we did anything that alerted Dumbledore's suspicions," said Raph slowly.

The three brothers had left the Room of Requirement but Leo had seen them go.

"Those three are unbelievable," said Leo in exasperation. "Harry gave them one simple request not to go exploring, backed up by Master Splinter even, and they have to go against it."

Leo rushed out, to try and stop his brothers from doing anything stupid. It was tough being the responsible one most days and Leonardo knew that better than anyone.

"Wow this place is big," said Mikey in awe. "Let's go to the Headmaster's office and knock on his door before running off laughing."

"No, I really don't think we should tempt fate," said Don in a logical voice. "Dumbledore has likely increased his security."

The three explored for a couple of minutes before running into a very ticked off looking Leo.

"Uh, Hi, Leo," said Mikey meekly, looking at the angered expression on his older brother's face.

"You three have a lot of explaining to do!" yelled Leo. "Harry warned you of the dangers of being exposed, but yet you recklessly wander off for no reason at all. This behavior is unacceptable, you are trained ninjas, act like them!"

"Jeez Leo, what crawled up your shell and died today?" asked Raph.

Leo would not be deterred; he needed to make his brother's realize the dangers of being reckless.

"This reckless nature is the same thing that got the entire Foot wanting to kill us!" continued Leo in a lecturing voice. "The fact we got away from the Ministry of Magic last time was sheer dumb luck. If the Aurors were better at working together than they were, they would have wiped us up and we probably would have been sold to some government laboratory for genetic experiments. If we're seen, that could very well happen or worse, we could get the entire Ministry of Magic on our shells..."

Raph, Mikey, and Don heard someone coming but Leo was too busy ranting about the risks of being seen. The irony of it all is while Leo was ranting about the risks, he was seen. Raph, Mikey, and Don managed to conceal themselves but by the time Leo saw what was coming, it was too late.

Draco Malfoy walked up, greeted by the most peculiar sight. It seemed there was a giant turtle in the hallway at Hogwarts. He wondered if that fool Hagrid had gotten a new pet that had somehow gotten loose. There was only one way to find out, as Draco got closer.

Leo spun around, drawing his weapons in panic at the thirteen year old that snuck up behind him. That caused the boy to shriek in terror like a little girl before running off in the opposite direction.

Draco Malfoy kept running, that disgusting half-breed turtle thing was going to attack him. There was only one logical course of action in Draco's mind. He was going to write to his father, telling him that he should get someone from the Department of the Disposal of Magical Creatures due to the fact their seemed to be a giant vicious killer turtle at Hogwarts and judging by the number of voices Malfoy heard when he came to investigate there will be more.

Dumbledore was sitting in his office when he heard an incoming Floo Call. The Headmaster walked up to the fireplace and on the other end was the head of Walden MacNair of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures.

"Dumbledore, we have received intelligence that there are other dangerous creatures residing in Hogwarts then the hippogriff that attempted to murder Draco Malfoy," said MacNair in a gruff voice.

"What creatures are these?" asked Dumbledore.

"None of your concern," snapped MacNair. "I have an order from the Ministry of Magic to search Hogwarts and put down any dangerous creatures that my team sees on the spot."

"Very well, then," said Dumbledore. "I will grant you access to the school. When will you be arriving?"

"Tomorrow morning, Dumbledore," said MacNair. "I'll be bringing my axe, as we may very well have to have an on the spot execution to any of these strange creatures, as the creatures found are breaches of Magical Law and should be put down before they breed."

Dumbledore nodded, wondering what magical creatures MacNair was talking about.

In his office, MacNair used a spell to bring his executioner's axe to the sharpest point, while looking at the stuffed trophies of all the exotic and rare magical creatures his department caught and executed over the years. Tomorrow he would apparently be adding giant turtles to his trophy collection.


	17. Chapter 17: The Hunt is On

**Chapter Seventeen: The Hunt is On**

It was Friday Morning and Harry Potter was about ready to join his friends for Breakfast. Harry gazed outside for a minute, there seemed to be clouds forming in the air and it looked to be a murky day. In fact this day appeared to be a day where something could go horribly wrong.

Harry quickly brushed those thoughts out of his mind. He could be paranoid of course. Harry sat himself down at the Slytherin Table next to Ginny, with Theodore and Daphne opposite him.

"Where's Hermione anyway?" asked Harry.

"She hasn't been here all morning," answered Daphne. "She must have overslept or something."

"With all those classes, I wouldn't be surprised," said Theodore darkly. "Still haven't figured out how she has managed it."

Before Harry could say anything, a group of a half a dozen gruff middle-aged men entered the Great Hall. Their leader wielded a large executioner's axe.

"Gentlemen, spread out, search all of Hogwarts," ordered the leader. "Split up into two teams and be ready for anything. Tranquilizer spells at the ready, I want these creatures for my trophy room. They could be dangerous, so make sure you hit them with everything you got, but I want them mostly in one piece. Now move."

The Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures spread out as Ginny turned to Harry.

"I wonder why they're here, it is almost like they were after something," asked Ginny with a frown.

"I have a theory," replied Harry, praying against all hope he was wrong. "Excuse me, I have to make a mirror call."

Harry stepped out of the Great Hall, managing to put silencing spells on the doorway he left before pulling out his mirror.

"Michelangelo," said Harry to the mirror.

"Harry, what is it," said Mikey sleepily from the other side. "I just woke up a minute ago, let me..."

"Mikey, did you by any chance leave the Room of Requirement and accidentally be seen?" questioned Harry attempting to keep his voice calm.

"Uh, Harry, don't you have to, you know, eat Breakfast," said Mikey in a fake cheerful voice. "After all, it is the most important meal of the day."

"Answer the question, Michelangelo!" snapped Harry in a rough voice.

Mikey winced but decided the best course of action was to tell the truth.

"Okay, Harry. Raph, Don, and I needed some fresh air, so we decided to go out of the Room of Requirement to take a little stroll," said Mikey nervously.

"Continue," said Harry emotionlessly.

"Leo, overheard our plans, decided to go out and stop us, giving us a big lecture about how we should not get ourselves seen and how our recklessness would get us sold to some government lab for genetic testing," continued Mikey. "Then, we heard someone coming and we hid ourselves. Leo saw the person, panicked, and drew his katanas out. This caused the person to run away while screaming like a little girl."

"Did you see what the person looked like?" asked Harry.

"Oh, he was this blond looking kid, he looked a bit like a ferret in the face to be truthful," responded Mikey.

"Malfoy!" hissed Harry in a deadly voice. "Now, Mikey, listen to me and listen to me good. There are a bunch of members of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures coming after you..."

"But we're not magical!" whined Mikey.

"You think that matters to them," hissed Harry in a low tone of voice. "You need to find a way out of the school and into the Forbidden Forest at the edge of the school. I have class this morning and under normal circumstances, I'd be able to help you but I can't allow Dumbledore to connect me with dangerous creatures, because as manipulative as he is, he is also extremely intelligent and would figure out it would be you guys."

"Wait a minute, Forbidden Forest," said Mikey. "Isn't that the place with the crazy giant spiders and the werewolves and the..."

"Mikey, it's probably not as bad as it is during the day then it is had night," said Harry, shuddering at his two trips into the Forest. "Now, they're searching the school, I am confident you can find a way out of there. I will meet you in the Forest after Quidditch Practice tonight to get you off the school grounds."

"Gotcha, Harry," said Mikey before letting Harry off the mirror.

Mikey left his room. Looking around, there seemed to be no one up. So, Mikey, being Mikey, decided it was time to take drastic measures to get his family up and out of bed.

"Everyone get out of bed!" screamed Mikey in his loudest voice. "Crazy Ministry Employees are after us, attempting to kill us. Everyone come on, this is not a joke, this is not a joke! Rise and shine!"

The other three Turtles and Splinter left their rooms, looking rather tired.

"What are you blathering about Mikey?" demanded Raph in a rough voice.

"We need to get out of here, now," said Mikey. "It seems like that Malfoy kid alerted the Ministry of Magic and now they brought some of their crazy whacked out monster hunter type people to bring us in."

"Well, the turtle has been let out of the aquarium apparently," remarked Don darkly.

"We need to find a way to get out of the castle, my sons," said Splinter. "We will discuss your tendency to get in trouble, later, but right now we need to depart."

"Harry suggested we should go to the forest outside of the castle," said Mikey.

"That suggestion has merit, we could hide in the forest until this blows over," agreed Leo. "Come on, let's go."

The Four Turtles and Splinter started to leave the Room of Requirement. Thankfully, there was no one in the corridor at the moment, so they could slip away. They managed to duck behind suits of armor every little bit, to make sure that there was no one coming. Eventually they reached a stairway.

"Head for the stairs, quickly," said Master Splinter. "I sense at the bottom of them there is a window we can exit from."

Don, Raph, Mikey, Leo, and Master Splinter made a movement for the stairs but they were stopped by voices along with footsteps coming up the stairs.

"MacNair told us to look up here, this is the corridor where the Malfoy boy saw the turtle creature, so they could still very well be in the general area," said one of the voices.

"That shoots that plan right in the foot," muttered Raph, pulling his Sais out, ready for a fight.

"Raphael, do try and avoid a fight unless absolutely necessary," said Leo in an exasperated voice, knowing it would take just one little thing to set his brother off.

Mikey felt the urge to sneeze suddenly. Despite his attempts to fight it, it only made it worse.

"Ah-Choo," sneezed Mikey, knocking over a suit of armor in the process.

"Way to go, Michelangelo," said Raph sarcastically.

The two members of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures who were on the stairs rushed up them to investigate the source of the disturbance. That corridor was not normally used by students, which meant there was someone up here that shouldn't be.

"We have to get out of here," said Don as the four Turtles and Splinter ran off but were stopped by Draco Malfoy.

"So, there were more than one of you, and a giant rat as well," said Draco in a triumphant voice. "I knew skiving off class and coming up here was beneficial. It would give me great pleasure to see you executed. Perhaps I can persuade the Ministry to let me keep one of you stuffed as a memory of this great day."

"Out of the way!" snapped Raph angrily, lifting Draco up, before throwing him across the corridor. Malfoy landed flat on his face, no doubt breaking his nose. Raph personally felt he let the little punk off easy.

"You dare touch me," said Malfoy angrily. "I, Draco Malfoy, the heir of the pure blooded and noble Malfoy family."

"Let's go," said Leo anxiously as the two members of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures were in pursuit for them.

"They went that way!" cried Malfoy. "Don't let them get away, I want their heads for besmirching my good name by putting their slimy reptilian hands on me."

The two members of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical creatures followed, the Turtles and Splinter, their wands raised in the air.

"Subdue them," grunted one of the men.

"Spiculum!" cried the second of the men, sending a dozen sharp pointed arrows towards the Turtles and Splinter.

"Watch it, low bridge," said Mikey, as Mikey, Raph, and Splinter threw themselves on the ground while Don and Leo jumped out of the way, allowing the arrows to fly safely away from them.

The Ministry members managed to shoot out a window, causing shards of broken glass to fly everywhere.

"Those clowns have just given us an escape route!" cried Raph spotting the window with all the glass blown out of him behind him. "Come on, this way."

The Turtles and Splinter leaped out the window, not knowing where it would take them. Don found it rather unnerving how easy it was to blow out a window in what was supposed to be one of the safest places on earth and wondered if they could get out this easily, perhaps someone with evil intentions could find a way in easily.

"Inform MacNair that managed to escape," said one of the gruff looking middle-aged members of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures.

On the grounds, MacNair growled in frustration, it appeared he would have to take a hands on approach to this mission. He pulled out his axe, running his finger down the handle of his weapon fondly. Those Turtles would be his most prized capture yet and adding in an apparent giant rat, this would be one of the best days in MacNair's life.

His subordinates surrounded him, waiting for orders.

"Search the grounds, those meddlesome reptiles and that rodent could not have gotten far," growled MacNair. "Bring them to me, I wish to finish them off, personally."

Don, Raph, Mikey, Leo, and Splinter had managed to brace themselves from the long drop out of the window for Hogwarts, but they were a little shaken up.

"The forest is right there," said Leo pointing with his katana. "Now could we please get there without attracting any trouble?"

Raph, Don, and Mikey gave Leo incredulous looks, as if he was asking for too much for them not to attract any trouble.

"Right, what was I thinking?" asked Leo, shaking his head in frustration.

"In any event, we need to get to the Forest so we can conceal ourselves," said Splinter. "Stay alert and be ready for anything, my sons."

The four Turtles and Master Splinter scurried off towards the Forbidden Forest and nearly made it without a hitch. Unfortunately for them, one of the members of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures saw their shadows as they disappeared into the Forest. The man raised his wand, sending up sparks to notify MacNair of the presence of the four turtle half-breeds and the half-breed rat.

The Turtles entered the forest, weapons at the ready just in case there was any trouble. Harry told them the Forest was creepier at night but it was still dark and spooky during the day.

Splinter sniffed at the air, before pointing towards a path.

"This way my sons," said Splinter. "Come, quickly, before something comes after us."

Little did the Turtles and Splinter know, a very familiar three headed dog, who had taken up residence in the forest after the Philosopher's Stone debacle, had overheard them. Fluffy curiously followed the sound of the voices, maybe hoping for a quick meal.

The three-headed dog gave a predatory growl. Breakfast would be served shortly.

"The Turtles went into the Forest," said one of MacNair's subordinates.

"Very good, we will nab them," said MacNair. "Kill any that stands in our way, as this Forest is filled with such loathsome creatures who deserve to be put down."

MacNair pointed forward, leading his fellow members of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical creatures forth, as the hunt continued.

The Turtles and Splinter stopped in a wooded area.

"I think we went deep enough to shake them off," said Leo. "Still, be ready to move at a moment's notice."

Splinter nodded but then stopped for a growling sound. Raph looked around, his Sais drawn out.

"Now what?" said Raph angrily. "More people wanting to pick a fight with us."

Mikey's eyes went wide as he saw what was standing behind Raph. It had three heads and was growling.

"Uh, Raph, I think you better turn around," said Mikey.

Raph spun around, seeing a three headed dog slobbering at the mouth, before springing forward, pinning Raph to the ground.

Don sighed before springing up, and kicked the dog in one of the heads. This did not deter the dog as it grabbed Donatello's Bo staff in one of its jaws, yanking on it.

"Down boy," said Don before managing to pick up a tree branch that had fallen and throwing it. "Now fetch."

Despite having three heads, the dog-like urge of fetching sticks had overwhelmed Fluffy. Fluffy let go of the Bo staff and bounded off happily, going after the tree branch.

"That was way too close," said Leo, brushing his forehead with his hand. "We need to go further, get out of here."

"Forget it, turtle, you're not going anywhere," growled a tough voice.

MacNair and his subordinates had reached the place where the Turtles and Master Splinter had taken refuge. MacNair raised his axe in the air, with a primal scream before bringing it down where Mikey was. Mikey expertly jumped out of the way, causing the axe to get implanted into the tree. Donatello leaped up, swinging his Bo staff before bringing it down on MacNair's back. MacNair stumbled before whipping out his wand and pointing to towards the Turtles and Splinter.

"Necto!" screamed MacNair, shooting a chain out of his wand, attempting to wrap it around Don but Don rolled out of the way, causing the chain to wrap around the tree. Leonardo leapt into the air, slicing the chain, causing MacNair to clumsily stumble back. The Turtles then grabbed onto the chain, yanking it, which cause the tree to rip free.

"Scatter!" yelled one of MacNair's subordinates, as the tree came crashing down. Unfortunately for the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures, they were down a member on that day as the tree managed to crush one of the men brought in for the job, ripping him in half and killing him instantly. Blood sprayed everywhere, drenching anyone close enough to the victim when he was destroyed.

"This way," said Master Splinter in a commanding tone of voice.

The Turtles and Splinter managed to walk off as MacNair pulled his axe out of the ground.

"One of my men killed by those creatures," grunted MacNair. "Ah well, not much of a loss, I suspect he was useless if he managed to get himself killed."

The Turtles and Splinter were running through the Forest with the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures members after them.

"They're right behind us!" cried Mikey as a spell narrowly missed hitting him in the back of the head.

"Split up, meet back at the edge of the Forest after we have taken care of these people," said Splinter. "Stay alert and be careful."

The five split up as the five remaining members of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures followed them.

"Do not lose them," said MacNair. "Split up, I want their hides, do you understand me?"

Everyone split up, taking a path taken by each of the five creatures. The Ministry could ill afford another failure, so they needed to capture the creatures, no matter what the cost was.

Leo could tell one of the men were near so he ducked behind a tree, ready for action.

"Come out and play," said the member of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures, waving his wand before wordlessly conjuring a spear. "Come out you effin' freak so I can gut you like a fish."

The man twirled his spear, ready for action but Leonardo whipped from behind the tree, confusing the oaf.

"What the..." said the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures member before Leo came out flying, cutting the spear in half before kicking him in the hand to causing his wand to fly out of his hand.

The oaf gave a yell, before picking up a tree branch, attempting to swing it but Leo propelled himself up into the air with his katana in hand, cutting a vine from the tree before wrapping it around the feet of his stalker. Leo then pulled up the man, leaving him hanging upside down by the tree.

"Nice of you to hang around," replied Leo before walking off. He knew it could be a while before the oaf found a way to cut himself down but Leo did not want to take any chances.

Raph looked around, he was kind of hoping his attacker would catch up to him, as he enjoyed a good fight. Sure enough, Raph's pursuer came after him, wand raised in the air.

"Reducto!" cried the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures member but Raph quickly ducked to the side, causing a piece of rock to be blown into pieces.

Raph lifted up one of the blown off chunks of rock, throwing it at the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures worker. The impact knocked the worker's wand out of his hand and also had the impact of broking his hand. Raph pulled himself up before grabbing his attacker around the neck pushing down on the pressure points causing the man to seep into dreamland.

Splinter walked through the forest, walking stick at the ready, as his foe was near him. The rat master ducked behind a tree, waiting his foe to close in. The member of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures looked around, his hand raised in the air. Without warning, Splinter tripped on the man with his walking stick. The man fell face first into a puddle of mud in the forest. He angrily sprang up, pointing his wand at the rat.

"Incendio!" cried the attacker but Master Splinter managed to move and the jet of fire flew out of Splinter's way, managing to burn part of a tree into cinders.

Splinter decked his attacker with a kick before he brought his walking stick up into the air. The stick cracked over the head of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures' head, causing him to crash down to the forest floor, severely injured from the trauma of the stick smashed into his head. His attacker indisposed, Splinter walked off, preparing to meet up with his sons.

Mikey looked over his shoulder. It seemed his attacker was relentless and would not let up until one of them was knocked out. Mikey pulled out his nunchucks, ready for a fight. A sinister jet of purple light flew towards Mikey. The turtle rolled out of the way, causing the jet to fly off into the distance harmlessly.

"Turtle, you are going down this time," said the man perusing him before raising his wand in the air. "Jaculum Toxicum."

Three darts shot out of the wand, all three of them poisonous, Mikey leapt into the air to avoid. Seconds later he swung his nunchucks, batting the darts back towards his attacker. Mikey rolled on the ground but tripped as the attacker prepared to do another spell. The turtle was not able to get up in time as the attacker moved forward, raising his wand above his head.

"Any last words, Turtle?" asked the attacker.

Mikey looked up and saw the three-headed dog was back, growling.

"You know, if I was you, I'd look behind you," said Michelangelo.

"You really think I am that stupid, falling for that trick," said the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures member.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," said Mikey.

"Diff.." started the member of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures but he never finished as Fluffy decided to take the arm as a chew toy, yanking on it, giving Mikey time to slip off.

Mikey decided to scamper off as he heard a blood-curdling shriek before a sinister ripping sound. The turtle did not want to even know what was going on behind him; he just scurried off, not looking back.

MacNair was looking for his prey, axe in hand. He had uttermost confidence he would be able to capture this turtle creature and his men would return with the others along with the rat very shortly. The executioner raised his axe into the air, before feeling a stick hit him in the back. MacNair spun around, swinging his axe wildly but something smacked him in the back. The man spun around again, it was apparent he was being toyed with.

Don sprinted away from the area where the executioner was, in an attempt to outsmart him and cause him to think twice about hunting his brothers and Master Splinter. Looking at the man, Don believed it would not be as hard as it seemed.

"Come out and show yourself like a man, you turtle half breed thing," said MacNair, preparing to raise his axe in the air but a shadowed figure rolled into the distance and pulled the axe out of his hand. "What the..."

MacNair watched in horror as his prized possession was thrown into the air before being broken in half.

"That's it, I will destroy you, whatever you are," said MacNair. "Reducto! Incendio! Crucio! Expello!"

No matter how many spells MacNair shot, he could not get close to his target. He heard something leap into the air before getting cracked in the back of the leg. He fell to one knee, his leg shattered from the impact.

"Argh," grunted MacNair before he felt a green fist sailing towards his face, smashing into it.

"Sleep tight, big guy," remarked Don as MacNair hit the ground, knocked out from the blow.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle looked smug on the grounds. Soon, those turtles and the rat would be brought from the forest, dead by the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical creatures.

Harry walked out of the school, after a long hard day of classes, but Quidditch Practice loomed in the horizon. The finals between Ravenclaw and Slytherin were only a few weeks away.

"Potter, what perfect timing, you're about to see my supreme moment of triumph," said Malfoy. "Right about now, the creatures that assaulted me should be coming out of the Forest, dead. It's glorious isn't it Potter?"

Harry said nothing as Crabbe and Goyle snickered. At that moment, MacNair came flying out of the forest, looking rather battered and unnerved. Whatever was left of his men came running out of the forest, screaming after him. MacNair managed to pull himself up.

"We may have lost this round," said MacNair, spitting up blood as he talked. "But, one day, Turtles, I'll have my vengeance for you making a complete fool out of me. I swear it."

MacNair and his subordinates left, taking the Portkey from Hogwarts and back to the Ministry. At this moment, Harry turned to Malfoy.

"Supreme moment of triumph, Malfoy?" said Harry shaking his head. "More like your supreme moment of looking like a turkey."

Harry snickered at his rival's misfortune, as Draco looked rather irritated. Why couldn't anything ever go right for him?

After Quidditch Practice, Harry went into the Forest. His family was sitting there, waiting for him.

"Well, you won this round, but that executioner seems to have sworn a vendetta on you. This location is no longer safe," said Harry. "So, I believe it is lucky that it's Friday and a weekend is ahead of us. Now you know what must be done."

"Yes, Harry, we have to return to New York now," said Mikey in a disappointed voice.

"And finish our business with the Shredder, once and for all," added Leo.

"I have informed my friends of my departure over the weekend so they don't worry and have gotten permission from my head of house to leave," said Harry, pulling out the Portus-Amulet and his wand.

"So are we going to do this, or what?" asked Raph, looking rather eager to bust some Foot skulls.

Harry nodded as everyone grabbed on Tapping his wand to the Portus-Amulet, Harry and his family felt themselves being pulled from the Forbidden Forest and towards the lair back in New York.


	18. Chapter 18: Return to New York Part I

**Chapter Eighteen: Return to New York Part One**

The Turtles, Harry, and Splinter materialized just outside the lair. For security purposes, both Donatello and Harry had rigged up a few nasty surprises for anyone who had attempted to break into the lair uninvited shortly before Harry's second year at Hogwarts.

"Well it appears the tunnels around the sewer are completely deserted," observed Splinter.

"So in other words, the Foot all packed up and went home after that night they attacked us, while blowing up the warehouse with us inside," said Michelangelo. "Looks like your theory was right, Harry."

"Yes, the Shredder thinks we are dead," confirmed Harry. "That brings potential for a surprise attack right in the middle of Foot central."

"If we can get the security defenses around the Shredder's headquarters down," added Don, keying in the access code for the entry to the lair. A moment after completion, the sewer pipes sprung open, revealing the entrance to the lair.

Everyone looked around; the lair was just as they left it.

"Welcome home everyone," said Don, as he began to boot up his computer, ready for action.

"So, the plan is going to be an all out assault on Foot Headquarters," said Leo. "Don, see if you can hack into the Shredder's security system and find a way to disable any perimeter defenses."

A few moments of hard work, Don managed to pull up some directions to get into Foot Headquarters by way of the sewer.

"Okay, this complicates things, this program was designed and encrypted by Doctor Baxter Stockman," said Don. "It may be a bit more difficult to hack into the system as I had hoped."

"Let me try," suggested Harry.

"Be my guest, Harry, if you think you can get around Stockman's coding," said Don, getting up and allowing his younger brother to attempt to hack into the Shredder's Baxter Stockman designed security system.

Raphael pounded on his punching bag as Leonardo consulted with Master Splinter.

"We must be prepared, for anything," said Splinter.

"Oh I'm prepared alright," said Raph. "Prepared to kick some Foot butt."

"I think Master Splinter meant a little something more than that, Raph," remarked Leo, turning his Sensei.

"Indeed, Leonardo, I believe it is time to return the Shredder's sword to its former owner," said Splinter, indicting the Sword of Tengu, which was glinting sinisterly.

Raph eagerly walked forward, before grabbed the sword, forgetting about its unique properties. As a result, a wave of energy knocked Raph right onto his shell the second he touched the sword.

"Forgetting something?" asked Leo, holding the protective metal glove out.

"Why don't you carry the sword Leo?" suggested Leo, massaging his head from when it hit the ground. "After all, you're the sword guy."

Leo put the protective glove, pulling the Sword of Tengu out before putting it in his sheaths.

"I'm in!" cried Harry triumphantly. "It took a lot of trial and error, but I managed to crack Stockman's security code and hacked into the system."

The four Turtles and Splinter walked over, as Harry had pulled out building schematics of Foot Headquarters.

"Getting in appears to be easy," said Harry, looking at the outline in front of him.

"What about getting to Shredder?" asked Leonardo.

"A bit of hard work and patience is required but it can be done," said Harry, frowning. At this moment, Don looked over his shoulder.

"Yeah, but what concerns me is everything between the entrance and Shredder," said Don, looking at the building.

"So, are we ready to do this?" inquired Mikey.

"I believe so," said Harry. "I will sabotage Shredder's security defenses and let you know what you are up against on this end."

Despite the fact Harry would not be getting to do any fighting, disrupting the Shredder's security defenses would be the most important task of the night, as without them down, his brothers would have no hope of entering Foot Headquarters without getting captured in an instant.

"So, it's settled," said Leo nodding his head. "We're going to be a four turtle wrecking crew."

"Five," said Splinter in a firm voice, reminding his sons he would be coming along as well.

Harry watched his family go off. Despite knowing the important job he had to do, Harry would be lying if he said he did not feel a small burst of disappointment for not going along to knock some Foot goons around. Still he needed to keep his mind focused at the task at hand.

Outside Foot Headquarters, the Turtle's vehicle known as the Battle Shell was driving towards the building.

"This is it, we are coming up on Foot central right now," announced the voice of Don from apparently inside the Battle Shell.

The Battle Shell sped forward into action, driving down a tunnel, moving towards the central command station of the Foot.

Inside the tower, the Foot on duty in security command received warning of an incoming attack. They prepared for the standard lockdown procedure.

In the his throne room, Oroku Saki heard security alarms going off, which meant there was someone attempting to break and enter into his fortress.

"Hun," commanded Saki.

Obediently, Hun answered his master's summons almost instantly.

"Yes sir," answered Hun.

"There appears to be some kind of security breach, I want you to investigate immediately," said Saki.

Hun nodded loyally. The mountain of a man walked off, investigating the source of the disturbance.

The Foot in the security control center heard of the oncoming attack and were beginning to undergo the lockdown procedure, a procedure that when they did drills on it, went by without a hitch many times.

"This is security control, we are under attack," said one of the Foot Ninjas.

"Commence with the lockdown procedure, immediately," said a second Foot Ninja, pressing buttons, preparing to lock the entire place down but the lockdown procedure appeared to be scrambled and was not working as well as it should.

The doors grinded to a close slower than they should have as the Battle Shell sped down the tunnel, ready to blow through the doors.

"Front armor down," commanded the voice of Don as the armor slid down over the windows of the Battle Shell.

The opening of the door went tighter, so the Battle Shell needed to become angled to the sides, as it was propelled through the door by miniature rockets, making it through barely as the door closed.

Lasers popped out of the top of the vehicle, shooting at the security cameras and any Foot Ninjas who decided to be close enough to the action causing several of the Ninjas to be pinned down behind a security control outpost.

At this moment, Hun walked through the door, preparing to investigate the disturbance. However, he never expected to see this particular vehicle, especially when he thought the Turtles were destroyed due to his Master's word.

"Ah crud," said Hun in an emotionless as the van popped a missile off the top, launching it towards Hun. The large man ducked out of the way, causing a hole to be blown through the ground.

A rapid-fire succession of laser blasts threatened Hun, but he managed to pull a circular explosive device out. Setting the detonation time to five seconds, Hun pressed the button before expertly tossing it underneath the van. The explosive went off, knocking it over and no doubt injuring any occupants of the van.

Hun walked over to the vehicle, cracking his knuckles before the monstrous man ripped the back of it open with his bare hands. There appeared to be no occupants inside.

"What!" exclaimed a confused Hun. "Empty?"

In the Sewers underneath Foot Headquarters, a hole was burned in a sewer pipe before the piece of metal fell off. Don climbed out followed closely by Raph.

"Nice remote control work, slick," complimented Raph.

"And they say hours and hours of video games are bad you," inputted Mikey, shaking his head at the poor uninformed nature of the so-called experts.

"Poor Battle Shell, it really took a beating," said Don. "I was kind of starting to get attached to that gadget laden gas guzzler."

"And I'm sure you'll love the next one you build," replied Leo. "Right now, we have to stick to the task."

"Harry, we're inside" said Don on the other end of his shell cell.

"Good, Don, now I am creating a virus so I can fry their internal communications network and make them unable to coordinate their attacks," said Harry, a bit too evilly for his own good.

Hun was not a happy person right now. At this moment, he was ripping off chunks of the van, before angrily lobbing it towards the Foot Ninjas, who scattered before getting crushed by the incoming metal. He had an incoming call on his communications device and Hun picked it up. It was his Master.

"Hun, report," said Saki coolly.

"Sir, a van managed to slip past security but it was a decoy," said Hun.

"What!" thundered Saki.

"There're something else you should know, Master," said Hun, wondering if saying this was the right thing to say. "I have seen this vehicle before. It belongs to the Turtles."

"The Turtles alive. But Stockman assured me..." started Saki before trailing off and realizing Stockman had lied to him. "STOCKMAN!"

Saki deduced the best course of action would be to give Stockman's laboratory a call to have a little chat with him about lying.

"Stockman, Stockman, answer me!" thundered Saki.

Stockman had his back turned, sneering at the incoming call, before turning off his communication line to the Shredder. His little surprise for the Shredder would be done in a couple of hours and tonight, Stockman would make the Shredder pay for mocking his superior genius. Also, having Hun cut off half of Stockman's body had not endeared the Shredder to Baxter either.

"Stockman, report!" said Saki before turning his attention towards Hun. "Hun, scour the building, find the Turtles, put all Foot Ninja on full alert, and bring me Stockman!"

All of the sudden, Hun's communications device started to go to static.

"Master, I cannot hear you, your signal is breaking up," said Hun desperately. "Security control, this is Hun, can anyone hear me?"

Hun's communications equipment went completely dead. He decided to track down the Turtles, as it would no doubt please his Master if he had finished them off for good.

The Turtles and Splinter found there way to a corridor. After walking for a couple of minutes, they found a big metal door along with an input device obviously designed to key in an access code.

"Harry, it would be a big help if you could find an access code so we can get in," commented Don.

"Hmmm, Saki seems to be more paranoid than I am," said Harry. "It appears he has the codes changed hourly, this could be a bit tricky. If you got get inside and establish a connection, so I can nullify the need for access codes on this end, it would make my life a lot easier."

"Allow me," suggested Raph a second before he kicked the door down and allowing everyone access to the control center.

"Noisy but effective," observed Mikey as his brothers and Master Splinter walked through the door.

They found themselves greeted at least fifty or sixty foot ninjas, all wielding weapons of some sort.

"Now that's a lot of ninjas," said Mikey before pulling his nunchucks out, ready for action.

The Foot Ninjas rushed the Turtles and Splinter ready for action.

Leo sprang into the air, blocking a pair of sword swings with his own katanas before pushing back and flipping the Foot Ninjas over. Don twirled his Bo staff and smacking a charging Foot Ninja in the shin with it. Raph blocked a sickle swing before whacking the Foot Ninja in the side of the head with an elbow.

Don launched himself up and promptly brought his the Bo staff down onto the top of the head of the Foot Ninja. He blocked a swing with a Naginata before Mikey sprang up, catching the ninja in the back of the head with a well-placed nunchuck swing.

Master Splinter found himself surrounded by a half a dozen Foot Ninjas, all wielding swords. Splinter looked at them from the corner of his eyes before leaping up. Walking stick cracked over the head of One Foot Ninja. The second Foot Ninja was hoisted up and tossed into the third by the rat master. The Fourth Foot Ninja was knocked back with a kick. The fifth one was whacked in the chest with the walking stick and the sixth one had an uppercut from Splinter driven to his jaw. Splinter stood tall, all of his foes knocked out due to his efforts.

Leo blocked the sword swinging efforts of three ninjas with his katanas before Raph rushed into action, knocking two of the ninjas out with a well timed split kick. Leo swung his katana, slicing his attacker's sword in half. A vicious punch knocked his assassin enemy down and out.

"There're a lot of these suckers, aren't there?" commented Raph, blocking a staff shot with his Sai before kicking the offending ninja in the throat.

Mikey climbed onto a control center device, stalked by three ninjas wielding Kusari-Gama. Nunchuck shots by Mikey managed to bat the attempted chain whips back.

"Meh," said Mikey, taunting the Foot Ninjas as they attempted to attack him.

More desperate attempts to snare the Turtle from the Foot Ninjas but Mikey managed to keep leaping out the reach of the Kusari-Gama wielding Foot Ninja.

"Booga, Booga, Booga," taunted Mikey before the chains were wrapped around his feet and he was yanked but he managed to fly behind the control center, pulling his foes in with him.

Sounds of scuffling were heard from behind the control center outpost. The ninjas sailed out from behind the control center. Mikey pulled himself up, looking triumphant at his victory.

Leo blocked a pair of sickle wielding Foot Ninjas before sliding underneath and then kicking them back.

"Donatello, you're on!" shouted Leo as Don sprang into the air, planting his Bo staff into the ground. Don spun around, knocking the Foot Ninja manning the controls out of the chair before settling himself into the chair. He unzipped his duffle bag, before pulling a wire out, believing that would be good enough to suit his purposes.

"Harry, I am establishing the connection right now," informed Don, hooking a wire into the computer before typing in a series of complex commands.

"Right, Don, standing by for nullification process," confirmed Harry on the other end.

A Foot Ninja flew by; landing on the computer right by Don was working. Don looked up, seeing Mikey was the one who send the ninja flying.

"Do you mind?" asked Don in an agitated voice. "I'm working here."

"Sorry," said Mikey sheepishly before ducking underneath a sword swing and leaping up, smashing the Foot Ninja over the back with a pair of nunchucks.

A dozen Foot Ninjas pinned down Leo and Raph but Master Splinter rolled into action, before sweeping the legs out from underneath one of the Foot Ninja's with his walking stick. This gave Leo enough room to slash at one of the Foot Ninja's back with a sword, causing him to fall to the ground. Raph leapt over the attempted attacks of his opponents and tossed his Sais, knocking one back before ducking underneath the swing from another one and leaping up, knocking him back.

Don finished inputting the data. A Foot Ninja behind him raised the sword, preparing to slice Don's head in half but Don calmly picked up his Bo staff. Seconds later, he whacked the Foot Ninja in the face with it, dropping the warrior to the floor.

Mikey rolled underneath a charge and smashed one of the Foot Ninja in the back, causing him to fly forward and accidentally get impaled on a sword of one of his fellow assassins. Taking advantage of this distraction, Mikey swung his weapon, to crack the Foot Ninja who did the impaling in the head with the nunchucks. The warrior hit the floor, his skull cracked from the impact of the blunt blow.

"Access code nullification link established," commented Don.

"Nullification in process," responded Harry from the other end of the shell cell. "Access codes are as of this moment nullified and you should be able to move about the building freely, without having to punch in an access code."

"And the Foot Ninja have all been knocked out," said Mikey triumphantly, indicating the mass of fallen bodies on the floor.

"No doubt, more will be on the way," said Master Splinter. "We must keep moving."

"Any suggestions on a way out, Harry?" asked Don.

"Ventilation system, there is a duct on the east side of the room you're in," responded Harry. "This should allow you to move up at least eight to ten floors without any trouble."

Leo tensed up as footsteps were heard in the corridor where they had just come in.

"Come on, we need to go up, now," ordered Leo, using his sword to pry the covering off the air duct before beginning to climb up. The others followed Leo, quickly, not really knowing exactly where they were heading.

A moment later, Hun arrived in the control room with three Foot Tech Ninjas. Hun rushed, over, pulling up one of the fallen Foot Ninjas.

"Where are the Turtles?" demanded Hun.

"Turtles," groaned the Foot Ninja before pointing at the duct where the Turtles and Splinter had just climbed up. Then the Foot Ninja collapsed.

Hun walked over, looking up. He managed to see a tail of a rat disappearing but due to his girth, there was no way Hun was going to fit through the air duct.

"Find them," commanded Hun to the three Foot Tech Ninjas.

The Foot Tech Ninjas bowed before going after pursuit of the Turtles and the rat.

Upwards several floors, another air vent was pried off. The Turtles and Master Splinter leaped down. They appeared to be in a room filled with high tech advanced vehicles and weaponry.

"Wow, it's like I died and went to techno geek heaven," commented Don fondly, looking around in awe at all the goodies that the room held.

"Wow, a turtle could really do some serious damage with this hardware," said Raph.

Mikey picked up a funky looking gun, examining it.

"Wickedly radical," said Mikey, playing around with the trigger. "I wonder what this thing does..."

Mikey found himself shot in the face with a cloud of smog and found himself coughing.

"Does that answer your question?" asked Leo, pulling Mikey to the side.

Master Splinter paused. There was something that appeared to be off but Splinter could not figure out exactly what.

"Come, we must remain on the move," said Splinter.

The Turtles followed their sensei and little did they know on a ledge above them, perched three Foot Tech Ninjas made invisible by cloaking controls waiting to do them in. The Foot Tech Ninjas leapt to the ground, preparing to maim the Turtles and Splinter.

Master Splinter and the Turtles walked a couple of feet before stopping. Splinter sniffed in the air, clearly something was up.

"Master Splinter what is..." began Leo but Splinter held up his hand to stop his oldest son.

"I sense a presence," said Splinter.

The Turtles looked around but they could see nothing.

"No one here but us mutations," said Mikey.

"No it's something...different," said Splinter. "Something that cannot be seen."

"Foot Tech Ninja!" cried Donatello in realization before getting struck in the back by an invisible force.

Raph swung at the air but he went flying backwards due to an invisible punch. Mikey got hoisted up and thrown casually into the air. Leo attempted to swing his sword but he got struck with a kick to the back of the legs.

"What are we going to do?" asked Raph, swinging at the air, attempting to hit an invisible opponent by chance.

"No sweat, I can prepared for these clowns," said Don attempting to pull a pair of infa-red goggles out of his duffle bag but he got kicked back into a cabinet, dropping his bag.

Splinter sniffed in the air and one of the Foot Ninjas decided to make himself visible. An attempted kick by his enhanced armor was blocked by Splinter's walking stick. The Foot Ninja became invisible once again as Splinter swung his stick. The rat master turned around but the Foot Tech Ninja became visible just as he was flying through the air, catching Master Splinter with a double kick to his chest.

"Master Splinter!" cried Raph in horror but an invisible force knocked him backwards. Mikey and Don received some of the same treatment, as the Foot Tech Ninjas seemed to hold the advantage due to their lack of visibility.

Mikey managed to flip back into a platform before pulling a switch, which raised the platform in the air. Raising his hand up in the air triumphantly, he looked down at what he perceived to be his invisible attackers.

"Booyah in your face invisible man, I just smoked your transparent butt," said Mikey before his opponent became visible behind him.

"A-Hem," said declared Mikey before he kicked Mikey in the chest as he turned around, causing him to plummet fifteen feet. Thankfully for him, Mikey managed to brace his fall and land on his feet.

"They're toying with us," said Leo in frustration as an invisible enemy knocked him around.

Raph pulled himself onto some kind of souped up car while punching on some buttons in an attempt to get it working. In a moment, it hovered about three feet in the air, ready for the assault.

"Oh yeah, well it's about to use some toys on them," said Raph, before pulling a switch back, sending some kind of electrical wave at his invisible foes. They slowly shorted in and out, becoming visible at random intervals.

"Way to go Raph, it's messing up their cloaking controls," said Donatello before reaching into his bag but Raph's little air car was beginning to spin out of control, blasting things that were not Foot Tech Ninjas, including a hole through the ceiling above them.

"Yeah, now all you need to do is work on your aim," said Mikey, ducking a blast as it shot towards him. One of the Foot Tech Ninjas grabbed Mikey, but his cloaking control started to play havoc.

"Hang on Mikey, I came prepared," said Donatello, before pulling a shuriken out of his bag and lobbing at the invisible foe.

The shuriken became implanted right in the cloaking control, causing the Foot Tech Ninja to become electrocuted before slumping down to the ground, his entire cloaking control fried.

"Super Shock Shurikens, instant short circuit," remarked Don.

Leo was pinned down against the wall by one of his invisible enemies, who managed to grab a pipe that hand been blown off the wall during the battle. This ninja was using the pipe to attempt to strangle Leo.

"Don, quick get him before he disappears," said Leo but the Foot Tech Ninja let up, before pushing his cloaking control, vanishing from sight.

Raph continued to spin around on his device but a fireball flew from behind it. This incident caused Raph to leap from the device before it blew to smithereens.

"Great," said Raph sarcastically, seeing a heavily modified jeep complete with flame throwing, piloted by an invisible ninja heading for his brothers and Master Splinter.

One of the Foot Tech Ninjas had been knocking both Leo and Mikey from behind.

"Can't you shock them, Don?" asked Mikey in irritation.

"Not if I can't see them," retorted Don before he was whacked in the back before seeing the horror that was the modified jeep, shooting fireballs from the flamethrower at him. Don avoid the shot and for good reason, as the ball of fire incinerated the ground where he stood.

Splinter leaped into the driver's seat with the Foot Tech Ninja, attempting to choke him out with his walking stick. The Foot Tech Ninja managed to become visible, as his cloaking control was inadvertently knocked during the struggle. Master Splinter knew he had to stop the jeep from rolling completely over his sons but the assassin flipped him and grabbed Splinter's arm and neck, pinning Splinter back. The rat attempted to reach and managed to shut off the tank, just as it was inches away from rolling over a fallen Leonardo, crushing him flat.

"We need to make these boys, visible now so Don can shock them," said Raph as he got knocked by one of the invisible ninjas.

"I'll take care of that," said Leonardo, pulling out a pair of Fire Extinguishers before kicking them up. "Raph, think fast."

The Fire Extinguishers flew up into the air and Raph caught them, impaling them with his Sais, causing the substance within to fill the air, obscuring it with fog and making the two remaining Foot Tech Ninjas visible.

"Don, now it's up to you," said Leo.

"Right," answered Don, pulling a pair of Super Shock Shurikens from his bag before tossing them at the Foot Tech Ninjas. The shuriken impact electrocuted them, causing them to fall down, sparks flying from them with the cloaking control shorted completely out.

"Well, that's the end of that," said Raph, kicking the fallen Foot Tech Ninja in the face.

"Our invisible foes have now been defeated," said Splinter nodding his head. "Well done my sons."

"And we put out all the fires too," said Mikey proudly.

Don looked around the area. There appeared to be no doors or vents, beside the one they arrived from.

"Where do we go from here?" asked Don.

Leo looked at the hole blasted in the ceiling above them.

"Up," said Leonardo shortly.

Don nodded, pulling a grappling hook from his bag before swinging it and wrapping it around a water pipe. The Turtles and Splinter climbed up, before reaching some kind of laboratory, along with three stasis containers and several control tables.

"Harry, do you know where we are?" asked Don.

Harry frowned, looking at the floor description.

"Best I can tell you are on the fifty third floor," said Harry. "Beyond that, there seems to be no other information I can find for you."

Mikey looked around at the area, overwhelmed by a sense of deja vu.

"The decor looks strangely familiar," said Mikey.

Don paused for a second, glancing at where he was. It turned out his brother was right.

"It very well should, this is a Foot Genetics Lab," said Don.

"You mean its like that abandoned lab we found deep under the city," replied Leo.

When the Turtles went missing during Harry's second year at Hogwarts, it turned out the disturbance they had located were monsters that were mutated from people that the Foot had snatched at random. Apparently, the Shredder was looking for some kind of enemy deep under the ground and a similar laboratory to the one they were standing in was found deep underground with video logs detailing the experiences.

"Creepy," said Mikey in a hushed voice before stepping forward, inadvertently triggering an alarm system.

"Whoa, what was that?" demanded Raph, before looking at Mikey in an accusing tone.

"I didn't touch anything, I swear," said Mikey.

In an instant, stasis fluid drained from the three bio-suspension containers and three very familiar looking figures. They all were attired in Shredder armor but they looked as if they were warped versions of the head of the Foot. One of the figures had lobster claws, the other had four arms, and the third was a miniature version of Shredder.

"The Shredder?" asked Leonardo in confusion.

"No I don't think so," said Don as the three figures advanced on the Turtles and Splinter angrily. "Although I think they might be his genetic clones."

"Might be," said Raph in irritation.

The warped Shredder clones started advancing on the Turtles and Splinter, there eyes glowing a menacing shade of red and ready to spring into attack.

"So Donatello, tell me, got anything in your bag to deal with this problem," said Mikey as he began to back off from his attackers.


	19. Chapter 19: Return to New York Part II

**Chapter Nineteen: Return to New York Part Two**

The miniature Shredder clone moved in for the attack, into the air right at Leo. Leo had to block its attack with his sword. The lobster claw Shredder Clone attempted to snap Mikey's head off but Mikey dodged the assault. The four-arm clone was engaged in battle with Raph, Don, and Splinter.

"What are these things anyway?" asked Leo, once again batting the miniature Shredder clone back but the little guy kept coming back for more.

"My guess would be," said Don ducking a shot from the four-armed Shredder clone. "Genetically engineered hybrid clones. Recombinant mutations of Shredder DNA."

The four-arm clone raised his arms up into the air and smashed Don over the head. Mikey just managed to catch his clawed opponent with a glancing blow with his nunchucks.

"That's what I was going to say," said Mikey as the miniature Shredder clone charged Splinter but Splinter swung his walking stick at him. The miniature clone was knocked backwards through the air but landed on his feet before going at the attack again.

The lobster claw Shredder clone snapped his claws at Raph who barely managed to hold them back with his Sais.

"Nasty suckers, ain't you" said Raph before ducking under a claw snap and kicking the lobster claw Shredder clone in the back.

Mikey circled the four-armed Shredder clone and prepared himself for the battle.

"Hey, armed and dangerous, how would you like..." started Mikey raising his nunchucks up but the four armed clone grabbed the nunchucks, before it flipped Mikey down onto his head. A vicious knee to the stomach sent Mikey down.

Don used his weapon to propel himself over the charge of the miniature Shredder clone before sweeping its legs out from underneath its with the Bo staff. Of course the little guy still kept coming, raising his metal gauntlet in the air, in an attempt to impale Don but Don bounced out of the way, right into a four-armed bear hug from the four-armed Shredder clone. The four-armed clone attempted to squeeze the life out of Don.

In his throne room, Saki was getting very irritated at the poor reception he was receiving on his communications system.

"Stockman! Hun! Someone report!" screamed Saki irritably.

Master Splinter was back to back with Leonardo and Raphael. The clawed Shredder clone came from one side while the miniature Shredder clone came from the other. Splinter looked up and saw his sons behind him.

"My sons, on my signal," said Splinter as the two clones charged them, gauntlets raised in the air. "Now!"

Splinter, Leo and Raph leapt out of harm's way. As a result of this action he two clones to rammed head on with each other, causing them to fly back, looking dazed and confused.

"Guys," said Don in agony as the four-armed Shredder clone was squeezing the life out of him. "I'm kind of finding it difficult to breeze right about now."

Leo and Raph teamed up to kick the four-armed Shredder clone in the back. The four-armed Shredder clone dropped Don, but only to go after Leo and Raph, swinging wild punches at the two Turtles. Splinter looked up at the stasis container that formally held the three Shredder clones before motioning for Michelangelo.

"Michelangelo, now!" said Splinter as both Splinter and Mikey scaled the stasis chamber, before kicking the stasis container over onto the four armed Shredder clone, knocking him loopy.

"Don, I believe I have found you guys a way out," said Harry. "Quick, the building schematics shows there is a lab table with a button underneath that activates an elevator. I would suggest you get to it before the Shredder's genetic rejects wake up."

Don walked over, feeling underneath the lab tables before finding what he was looking for. He pushed the button, causing an elevator door to spring. The Four Turtles and Splinter looked at the giant hole in the floor that was separating them from the elevator.

"And how, pray tell do we get across?" asked Raph.

"No sweat, I came prepared," commented Don, reaching into his bag and pulling out a grappling hook attached to a rope. Don swung it around a few times before latching onto an overhead section of pipe. He swung across, over the pit and to the safety of the other side.

Mikey grabbed the rope and swung across, yelling like Tarzan. When he reached the other side, Don gave him in incredulous look at his antics.

"What, at least it ain't Cowabunga," replied Mikey, shrugging his shoulders.

The lobster claw Shredder clone was starting to come to life, snapping his claws in a meancing manner.

"I've got this one," said Raph, pulling out his Sais, before using them to back the lobster claw Shredder clone back as Leo and Splinter managed to swing there way across the pit to safety. As the rope was swung back, Raph gave the clone one last kick before grabbing onto the rope. "Later, lobster limbs."

Raph began to swing across but the lobster claw Shredder clone snapped the rope, causing Raphael to nearly fall to his doom. Thankfully there was a pipe in the area around the pit in the ground that Raph was able to hold onto. The lobster Shredder clone snapped his claws open and shut, ready to finish the turtle off.

Below in the room with all the high tech weapons and vehicles the Turtles fought the Foot Tech Ninjas in, Hun arrived with a small group of Foot Ninjas. Hun looked up, seeing Raph dangling helplessly.

"So, the Turtles really are alive," said Hun before climbing onto the jeep with the flamethrower attacked to it. "But not for much longer."

Leo looked down and spotted Hun and then at the lobster claw Shredder clone that was about ready to attack his brother.

"Raph, don't move until I tell you to," ordered Leo.

"Are you nuts, Leo?" asked Raph.

Hun aimed the flamethrower part of the jeep, ready to fire, just as the Lobster Claw Shredder clone closed in on his pray.

"Hold that pose, freak," said Hun viciously, about to push the button to blow Raph into smithereens.

"Okay, Raph, ready and jump down!" yelled Leo.

Raph jumped up as the lobster claw Shredder clone leapt down. The lobster claw Shredder clone hooked onto the pipe where Raph was and Hun launched the fireball, blasting the lobster claw Shredder clone. There was an agonizing growl before the lobster claw Shredder clone spontaneously combusted, completely obliterated from the heat of the fireball.

Raph pulled himself up, regaining his composure slightly. Don looked across the way and saw the other two clones rising to their feet groggily.

"Heads on guys, we are about ready to have another clone encounter," commented Don anxiously.

The miniature and full armed Shredder clone pulled themselves up, looking across the pit and Mikey looked triumphant as there appeared to be no way for the sinister clones to get them from the distance across the pit.

"Bleh, denied," said Mikey.

With a leap, the two remaining Shredder clones leaped over the pit, and prepared to go after the Turtles and Splinter, looking rather meancing. The Turtles and Splinter quickly backed into the elevator and attempted to close the door but the four-armed Shredder clone held the door open.

Quickly thinking, Don pulled a Super Shock Shuriken out of his bag of tricks and tossed it towards the elevator door, causing both the clones to be shocked and fall back, groaning in agony. As a result, the doors for the elevator slammed shut.

"Okay, did Shredder like wake up one morning and decide," said Mikey before switching to an imitation of the Shredder's voice. " I know what a really swell idea would be. Mutant clones of me, really ugly ones."

Before anyone can answer, the elevator doors were getting smashed from the outside.

"Hold that thought, Mikey," remarked Don before pushing up a trap door with his Bo staff, as the clones attempted to break into the elevator.

"Everyone up, now!" commanded Leo.

"Nunchuck express going up," said Mikey, pulling out his nunchucks and catapulting Raph, Don, Splinter, and Leo up on top of the elevator. Splinter and Leo pulled Mikey up, just as the Shredder clones burst through the door, Leo held the door on top of the elevator open with his katana as the others grabbed onto a cable. Leo slowly backed off before flipping before slashing a second cable, which caused the Turtles and Splinter to fly up while the elevator containing the Shredder clones went down.

Elsewhere in Foot Headquarters, Baxter Stockman was busy at work when he noticed a strange occurance as he did a routine check on the Foot Security System.

"What's this, someone's hacked into the system?" said Stockman in a snide tone of voice before realizing how he could use this to his advantage. "No matter, a little extra chaos could keep the Shredder busy. He'll never figure out what I have in store for him."

"Brace yourselves, it's going to hit!" yelled Leo as the elevator quickly spiraled down as they went up.

Sure enough a few seconds later, the elevator hit button, the fate of the Shredder clones but undergoing a fifty three floor fall does tend to shorten a person's life, clone or not. The Turtles and Splinter grabbed onto the wall, managing to pull themselves up to a ledge.

"Are you all right my sons?" asked Splinter.

"Yeah, peachy," remarked Raph in an emotionless tone of voice.

"Harry, what are we up against?" asked Don.

"Do you see a floor number?" asked Harry.

Don gazed upwards, seeing the "72" scratched into the wall on the floor where he is.

"We're on the seventy second floor," remarked Don.

"Hmm, that's odd, according to this, there is no seventy second floor in Foot Headquarters," said Harry from the other end of the shell cell. "I'm getting nothing but a blank in between the seventy first and the seventy third floor. Let me run a quick check but I believe Shredder has something on that floor he doesn't even want the security system programmers to know about."

"So, I suppose we are going to have to go in blindly and hope for the best," said Leo, nodding his head grimly, while prying the door open with his katana.

The Turtles and Splinter scampered onto the mysterious seventy-second floor. After walking a few steps, Master Splinter stopped suddenly.

"I sense a great danger on this floor," said Splinter.

"What, Sensei?" asked Leonardo curiously.

"Traps," said Splinter calmly. "We must proceed with the utmost caution or there will be dire consequences."

Splinter leaped up cautiously, making sure to avoid the floor before leaping to the end of the hallway. A couple of seconds later, Donatello mimicked his sensei, leaping up, bouncing off the walls before leaping down on the other side. Of course, being reckless he is, Raphael ran down the hall, without any regard for his safety.

"There ain't any traps down here," said Raph confidently just a few seconds before a blade shot out of the wall, swinging and missing Raph narrowly.

Three more blades popped out but Raph managed to expertly avoid before a pair of rods with circular saws came out of the wall. Raph continued his pursuit, stepping on a button on the floor, causing the second of the foot to slide into the wall, revealing a large pit with spikes on the bottom. Raph managed to leap over the pit, avoiding another blade that swung back and forth like a pendulum, before landing in front of Don and Master Splinter.

"Heh, Heh," said Raph sheepishly.

"Raphael, your rashness will bring dire consequences to you yet," said Splinter.

"I made it, didn't I" said Raph in a dismissive voice.

"And what of your brothers!" snapped Master Splinter in slight harsh voice.

"No sweat, Master," said Mikey leaping around. "Mikey got game, Mikey got hops, Mikey be in the zone."

Mikey managed to avoid the blades, while strutting around them like a goof.

"Booyah, in your face puny girly blades," said Mikey as Master Splinter put his head in his hands in frustration. "Go Mikey, Go Mikey, Go, Go, Go Mikey Argh!"

Michelangelo paid for his showboating as the blade swung like a pendulum and sliced off the back end of his headband. Knowing he had to quit fooling around, Mikey leaped over the pit of spikes. Master Splinter gave Mikey an irritated look.

"The trendy new headbands are in this season, all the stylish ninja are wearing them," said Mikey in an attempt to salvage his own mistake.

Leo jumped right over the pit, with the pieces of Mikey's headband in his hand. He roughly shoved them in Mikey's hand, looking irritated.

"No more fooling around Mikey, not today!" snapped Leo angrily before walking forward and pushing open the door that was the only way forward.

The Turtles and Master Splinter entered a cavernous looking room, with mist floating around. At the end of the room, there was a temple of some sort, with a group of five stone statues wielding tridents. Mikey gave an involuntary shudder as they moved forward towards the temple. Splinter looked up at the five stone structures the statues were behind, taking note of the symbols on them.

"Each of these symbols represent one of the five elements my son," said Splinter. "Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, and Metal."

An air of uncomfortable existence existed for a brief moment before the stone statues came to life, revealing their true forms, The Foot Mystics. The Mystics were beings of pure elemental energy, each made of the different elements indicated by the symbols on the stone structures.

"Be prepared for anything, my sons," said Splinter, as the Foot Mystics stepped forward, raising their tridents in the air before blasting the Turtles and Splinter with jets of light from them, causing them to fly back from the temple.

"Would Technicolor lightning bolts qualify as anything?" asked Mikey before getting blasted back from another bolt of energy from the Metal Foot Mystic.

Leo found himself blasted back by the Wind Foot Mystic. Raph moved in to square off the Water Foot Mystic in battle. He swung his Sais at the Water Foot Mystic but all he managed to do was cause drops of water to fly from side to side.

"Whoa, you can't even touch these guys," said Raph, vainly attempting to get a shot in on the Water Foot Mystic, but all he was hitting was water.

Mikey swung his foot, kicking the Metal Foot Mystic. This action resulted in Mikey flying back, messaging his foot in pain.

"That's not entirely true," said Mikey as the Metal Foot Mystic raised his trident, sending blasts of liquefied metal at Mikey which the turtle barely had time to deflect by spinning his nunchucks wildly.

The Fire Foot Mystic sent jets of fire flying at Donatello. Don swung his Bo staff, barely managing to beat back the attacks. Leo attempted to rush the Wind Foot Mystic but the Wind Mystic spun around, creating a tornado like motion, causing Leo to fly due to wind.

"We could really use Harry and his magic right about now," remarked Leo before the Wind Foot Mystic spun in circles, causing Leo to be caught up in the funnel cloud before getting thrown into the side of the temple. More wind was picked up, as Leo had to desperately hold onto the side of one of the stone structures and not get blown into oblivion.

The Earth Foot Mystic went after Master Splinter but Splinter whacked it with his walking stick, causing it to crumble into chunks of dirt before the Earth Foot Mystic reformed itself into a full being. Splinter leaped up, whacking the Earth Foot Mystic with his walking stick again. The Earth Foot Mystic crumpled into dirt again before slowly combining together into a fully formed being once again.

The Water Foot Mystic raised his trident in the air, beginning to cast a spell as Raph charged him but the hotheaded turtle managed to find himself blasted with a jet of water. The end result was Raph trapped inside a bubble of water. Raph angrily punched from the inside of the bubble, but due to the magical properties that the bubble contained, he could not find his way out.

"There has got to be some way to fight fire with fire!" cried Don desperately as another fireball flew his way. Don jumped out of the way, and the fireball hit the ground, leaving a giant scorch mark where Don was standing a moment ago.

Splinter spotted the Sword of Tengu in Leonardo's sheath and an idea formed in the rodent's head as he bashed the Earth Foot Mystic with his walking stick again.

"Or magic with magic," said Splinter quickly leaping up and before coming down to remove the Sword of Tengu out of Leonardo's sheath, wincing as the properties of the sword slowly burned his hands. "Leonardo, get your brothers away from the temple!"

"Master Splinter, you need the glove," said Don pulling it out of his bag. "Catch."

"No there isn't time," said Splinter, spinning around, causing a blast of electric energy to propel from the sword, knocking the Mystics back while freeing Raph from his bubble prison. "Leonardo, I told you to get your brothers away. Now!"

Leo lead Raph, Mikey, and Don away from the temple as Splinter leaped up, in front of the Fire Foot Mystic before bringing the sword up, blasting him and causing him to fly into the Metal Foot Mystic, melting the Metal Foot Mystic.

"Fire melts metal!" cried Master Splinter, once again swinging the sword, which was now causing his hands to smoke.

Splinter landed in front of the Water Foot Mystic and swung the sword, causing a wave of energy to blast him, causing the Water Foot Mystic to run into the Fire Foot Mystic, causing the Fire Foot Mystic to be quenched by the water.

"Water quenches fire!" cried Splinter, before propelling himself up into the air, right in front of the Earth Foot Mystic, who blasted rocks at Master Splinter but the wise old rat, would not be denied.

He rolled underneath a blast of rock from the Earth Foot Mystic before slashing the Sword of Tengu, blasting the Earth Foot Mystic into the Water Foot Mystic. The consequence of this action was the Water Foot Mystic being swallowed up inside the Earth Foot Mystic.

"Earth swallows Water!" cried Master Splinter, before turning his attention to the Wind Foot Mystic.

Splinter swung the sword around, causing propelled shockwave to knock the Wind Foot Mystic into the Earth Foot Mystic, scattering him all over the area of the temper.

"Wind scatters Earth!" cried Splinter before spinning around with the sword, smoke flying up from where Splinter was holding the sword with his hands. "And I shall quell the wind!"

The Turtles looked on in awe, as Splinter became a whirlwind, causing the Wind Foot Mystic to back off slightly before getting blasted with an extremely powerful shockwave into the temple, knocking the Wind Foot Mystic back. A couple seconds later, the temple collapsed on top of Splinter from the impact.

"Master Splinter!" yelled Leo, as he rushed over with the other three turtles. An anxious moment later, Splinter's hand weakly popped out of the wreckage of the temple, completely black and charred with smoke hissing from it from extensive exposure to the Sword of Tengu.

Splinter weakly pulled himself up from the wreckage of the temple, wincing as he placed his hands on the ground, due their burned state.

"Leonardo, retrieve the sword," said Master Splinter weakly as Don and Mikey helped bandaged Splinter's broken hands. "The Sword of Tengu is a potent mix of science and sorcery. Only a true master can wield it without the protective glove, but there is a grave sacrifice to be made when doing so."

Leo placed the glove on his hand, before pulling the sword out of the wreckage and placing it back in his sheaths with his regular swords. He then walked over to Don's bag, putting the protective metal glove inside.

"Everything okay, there," said Harry with concern from the other end of the shell cell.

"Fine, or as fine we can be after nearly getting killed," said Raph weakly.

"Right, I believe I may have found you a way up," said Harry. "Private elevator, east side of the building but it is unsure whether or not it can reach your floor."

Leo hastened to investigate, cutting a banner with the Foot logo on it, revealing the mentioned door and pressed a button, revealing an elevator.

"So where exactly does this take us, Harry?" asked Don.

In the lair, Harry pressed a few keys and a green line lead straight to the very top floor, where the Shredder was located.

"It'll take you straight to the Shredder," announced Harry in a triumphant voice.

The Turtles and Splinter entered the elevator, pressing the button, which took them to the very top floor. Splinter turned to address his sons.

"No matter what happens in the end, after all you have accomplished today, I have never been more proud of you in all my life," said Master Splinter. "My ninja, my sons."

The elevator reached the top floor and the doors opened. The Turtles and Splinter walked down a small corridor before opening a pair of doors, leading to the Shredder's throne room.

"There's no one here," said Raph, looking around in confusion.

Just after Raph said these words, all four members of the Shredder's Elite Guard teleported into the room from a cloud of smoke, weapons at the ready.

"You were saying, bro?" asked Mikey rhetorically.

"Let's do this," said Raph, cracking his knuckles.

"Yeah, we're in this together," said Leo.

"You don't know the half of it, freak," said the voice of Hun, who just walked in throne room, looking ready for action.

"What do you think they are waiting for?" asked Raph.

"The Shredder to show his metal face," said Harry, in a matter of fact tone of voice from the other end of the shell cell.

"Astute as usual, Potter," said Shredder. "It is a shame you did not join my honorable organization when you had the chance."

"Honorable!" exclaimed Harry incredulously from the other end of the phone. "I think your helmet is a little too tight, Oroku Saki."

"You seem rather brave due to the fact you are not in my presence right now, Potter," said Shredder.

"So sorry to disappoint you, Saki, but I was too busy screwing with your security system to take part in your destruction tonight," said Harry in a mock sorrowful voice.

"Enough talk, let's do this thing," said Raph.

The Shredder walked forward, as the Foot Elite joined their master.

"Very well," said Shredder before raising his hand to signal his henchmen into attack. "Elite Foot Ninja attack. Destroy them all!"

The Elite Guard leapt right into the air as did the Turtles. Mikey engaged the axe wielding Elite Foot into battle, blocking the shot with his nunchucks, before wrapping the nunchucks around the blade and kicking him in the ribs. The axe wielding Elite Guard member would not be denied as he sprung up, narrowly missing Mikey with a shot with his axe.

Don engaged in battle with the trident wielding member of the Foot Elite as the trident member tossed his weapon, pinning Donatello's Bo staff against the wall before knocking Don down. The Foot Elite grabbed Don but Don used his feet to flip the Foot Elite member over. Raph went into battle with the spear-wielding member of the Foot Elite, blocking a shot with his Sai before knocking him for a loop, swinging a kick into his face. The Shredder came from out of nowhere, blasting Raph his face with a punch, causing the turtle to fly back.

Leo blocked a double-edged sword shot from the Elite Guard member wielding that weapon before leaping up. The double-edged sword Foot Elite member swung his weapon, knocking one of Leo's katanas to the side. Leo blocked another swing with his katana and leaped up, before kicking the double-edged sword Foot Elite member in the back, causing him to fly into the spear wielding Foot Elite member. The Shredder rushed forward to face Leo. In an instant, the nasty ninja lifted Leonardo up by the throat, before tossing him across the room.

Splinter battled Hun, backing up the larger man but Hun picked up the rat by his robes. The rat master attempted to whack Hun in the face with the walking stick but Hun blocked it before tossing the stick to the side.

"Ha, ha," laughed Hun triumphantly, preparing to wring the rodent's neck but Splinter managed to slip out of his kimono and seconds later, the rat master was airborne, staggering Hun back with a series of kicks to the chest. After a few blows, Hun fell down to one knee, dazed.

"In the words of the great ninja master," began Splinter, putting his kimono back on. "It ain't over, till it's over."

The Foot Elite and the Turtles were at a stand still in the middle of the room and Shredder looked about ready to order his men to finish the job but the floor began to crack below them, interrupting the battle. A fifteen-foot tall cyborg, with four arms, two missile launchers hooked the side, and two legs began to come up from the floor, creating a hole in the middle of the Shredder's throne room. The intruder was made of metal, with the exception of the area around the head, which appeared to be a clear material of some sort with each of his arms, a different type of the weapon.

"What is this?" asked the Shredder angrily before seeing the head of his foe in the clear part of the cybernetic armor. "Baxter Stockman!"

"In the flesh," said Stockman pompously. "So to speak."

"You will pay your false reports of the demise of the Turtles and Potter!" growled Shredder before realizing he can manipulate the situation. "Although you can redeem yourself. Destroy the Turtles!"

Stockman allowed himself a laugh at the Shredder's gullibility.

"You blind, self important fool," said Stockman in a mock sorrowful voice. "I did not make this suit to help you Shredder, I made it to destroy you. For every punishment you inflicted upon you, you shall receive payback tenfold I have used your resources to transform myself into the ultra cyborg you see before you. A rather interesting twist of irony, don't you think?"

"Stockman, I'll have your head for this!" thundered the Shredder in anger.

"No Shredder, I'll have yours," said Stockman calmly before turning his attention to the Turtles and Splinter. "And as for you creatures, you have interfered in my brilliant schemes for the last time."

"Can you believe this guy's rap?" asked Mikey. "Whack job city."

"You will all pay, all of you, not one of you will leave this room alive," said Stockman. "You will be crushed, by the genius of Doctor Baxter Stockman."

"Dangerous whack job city," corrected Don as Stockman laughed evilly, preparing to do untold damage to both the Turtles and the Foot.


	20. Chapter 20: Return to New York Part III

**Chapter Twenty: Return to New York Part III**

"You will finally learn the meaning of pain!" yelled Stockman wickedly, before blasting a dozen missiles at the Turtles, who barely had time to jump out of the way.

Stockman raised one of his arms as a machine gun, sending bullets at everyone.

"Damn Stockman," cursed Raph.

"Guys, what's going on there?" inquired Harry in a worried voice. "I'm hearing multiple explosions and it is interfering with the reception."

"Tell you later, Harry, right now we need to stay alive," replied Don who was nearly incinerated with one of Stockman's arms that doubled as a flamethrower.

The Foot Elite stepped in to protect their master.

"Out of my way!" snapped Stockman, blowing up the floor below the Foot Elite, causing them to plummet to parts unknown.

In a flash, the Shredder sprung right at the mad scientist but Stockman beat him back with one of his arms, causing him to fly into a wall that had a banner hanging with the foot logo.

"Now where did Hun get to?" asked Stockman, before turning around and stalking his pray. "Oh there you are, Hun."

Hun picked up a torch, smashing it into the Stockman's armor, attempting to burn it but Stockman remained immobile before lifting up Hun with a robotic hand.

"Now it's payback time," said Stockman. "Hun, I am going to take you apart piece by piece. A lovely irony if I may say so."

"No!" groaned Hun in agony before the Shredder moved back onto the attack, slicing at the clear part of Stockman's cybernetic suit. There were slash marks for a brief second before clear section healed itself. Stockman viciously threw Hun into a wall before turning his attention to the Shredder.

"What!" snapped Shredder.

"A self healing polyacryllic shield," explained Stockman. "One of thirty two patented items customized especially for my suit. You made it all possible, Shredder. And you didn't suspect a thing, you pompous, overblown, ignoramus."

Stockman reached forward, grabbing Shredder in a tight grip.

"But all things must come to a bitter end," said Stockman. "Bitter for you that is, Shredder, as it is time for you to be reeducated in my genius."

Stockman laughed evilly before shooting his arm out, connected to his body by wires before smashing Shredder into a wall. The cyborg then shot his arm up arm before slamming Shredder's battered body to the ground.

"It took everything we had to beat the Shredder last time," said Raphael.

"Yeah and robo-nut just took him out in four point five seconds," said Don. "The Shredder and Hun, both."

"Uh, can we go home down?" asked Mikey, raising his hand in the air and waving it from side to side.

"Oh that felt good," said Stockman with relish before turning his attention to the Turtles and Master Splinter. "And now for the freaks. I am quite glad you are in attendance actually. You are on the list of parties responsible for recent misfortunes in my life."

Stockman waved his finger at the Turtles and Splinter.

"The charges are, ruining my genius work, interfering with my brilliant schemes, hampering my destiny as the foremost criminal and scientific prodigy!" yelled Stockman insanely before raising his missile launchers up, ready to fire. "Now it is time that I bid you ado."

Stockman fired a series of missiles that the Turtles and Master Splinter barely avoided, but the impact managed to blow metal beam out of the ceiling. Splinter barely avoided being crushed by the beam, before propelled himself up to whack on Stockman's clear shield with his walking stick. Naturally, this did not faze the mad scientist as he calmly grabbed Splinter by the tail and left him dangling.

"Master Splinter, no!" yelled Leo, leaping at Stockman but Stockman set Splinter down only to whack Leo to the side with his arm.

Don leapt up, Bo staff in hand, bashing it off of Stockman but to no effect as Stockman sent a jet of fire at Don who had to roll out of the way. Don and Mikey grabbed some rope as Leonardo leaped up, but Stockman managed to swat him off like a fly. The rope found itself wrapped around Stockman's legs.

"Rope?" asked Stockman incredulously. "You are going to try and stop me with rope? How positively primitive!"

"I've got your primitive right here!" yelled Raph, as a launched himself into the air and caught Stockman full on with both feet as Don and Mikey yanked on the ropes.

This action caused Stockman to plummet into the hole he created, screaming as he flew down. The Shredder pulled himself up, seeing Stockman had been disposed off.

"Well that's one minor annoyance dealt with," said Shredder. "Now to finish you four."

As Shredder prepared to attack, Stockman came blasting out of the hole, weapons firing wickedly, causing the Turtles, Master Splinter, and Shredder to scatter.

"You insufferable nitwits!" yelled Stockman angrily. "Doctor Baxter Stockman is not so easily dismissed."

Stockman launched missiles at Mikey and Raph, causing them to scatter.

"You will be destroyed!" yelled Stockman. "I Doctor Baxter Stockman shall...argh."

Leo aimed his shot well, as he had sliced one of Stockman's cybernetic arms off.

"My robotic arm, no!" yelled Stockman in horror. "No, it's nothing, just a momentary nuisance. My backup systems are...argh!"

The Shredder used his metal gauntlet to expertly slice one of Stockman's cybernetic legs off. Leo, Raph, and Mikey all rushed Stockman at Stockman, kicking him and sending the evil genius flying backwards. Stockman crashed through a window, plummeting down.

"This is just a minor setback!" screamed Stockman as he flew down towards the ground.

"Let's finish this Shredder," said Leo.

"Oh I intend to," said Shredder before the windows were blasted out from behind Shredder. Stockman apparently came back for more, this time propelled in the air by rocket launchers.

"You really think you can defeat me that easily, you simpletons" said Stockman. "My internal jet pack array. I spared no expense. After all, why should I? You were footing the bill, Shredder."

Stockman allowed himself to laugh evilly for a few seconds before blasting fire, bullets, and missiles at everyone in the room, causing them to scatter. The Shredder's throne room was a complete and utter mess after what Stockman had done tonight.

"Can someone please shut down that flying toaster oven?" asked Mikey in an irritated voice.

Don ducked a couple of missiles which blew out a section of the wall before spotting the radium power cells on Stockman's back that appeared to have powered the cybernetic suit.

"Maybe we can pull his plug," said Don thoughtfully before turning to Leo. "Leo, see those power cells on his back?"

"Yes," said Leo, avoiding fire blown his way.

"I need you to cut them, now!" said Donatello.

"I'm on it," said Leo, as he cautiously moved in behind Stockman, katanas at ready.

"This will be the end of you all!" declared Stockman in a pompous voice. "You should know better than to go up against my superior intellect. After all I Doctor Baxter Stockman will..."

Stockman was cut off as Leonardo managed to slice the power cells on his back. The cyborg hovered for a few seconds before crashing down to the ground, a motionless heap.

"Finally, shut him down and shut him up," said Mikey before Stockman came back to live, blasting up into the air.

"What will it take to defeat this guy?" asked Leo in an agitated voice.

"I have asked myself that question many times," said the Shredder in a casual voice.

"Something like that might have worked with a lesser mechanoid but once again I have prepared for every conceivable outcome," said Stockman. "In addition to the central power source, each component of my cybernetic armor has its own separate back up power sources."

Don spotted Stockman's arm lying on the floor, an idea forming in his brain.

"So what you're saying then, as this rocket launcher arm should be fully functional right?" asked Don rhetorically.

It took Stockman a couple of seconds to realize the implications of this.

"Oh no," said Stockman with a groan before hoping away on one foot but the good doctor was not fast enough.

"Fire in the hole!" yelled Donatello, blasting Stockman in the back with the rocket launcher and sending him flying through the window.

"This is just a minor setback!" yelled Stockman before apparently exploding into pieces in the sky.

"Now where were we?" asked Shredder before turning around seeing the Turtles and Master Splinter. "Ah yes..."

Without warning, Shredder knocked Raph to the ground with a leaping double kick. Don swung his Bo staff up but Shredder expertly caught it before he swung Don around and driving a knee into the midsection of Don. Shredder knocked Mikey back before leaping above the turtle to deliver a killing blow with his gauntlet.

"Michelangelo move!" yelled Splinter, diving in front of his son, causing the Shredder catch Splinter with a glancing below to the arm. Splinter dropped to his knees, in agony but Mikey had enough time to escape the wrath of the Shredder.

The Shredder backed off before quickly rushed Splinter, catching him right in the chest with a kick. A sickening crack echoed throughout the Shredder's throne room as Splinter flew back through the window, crashing down towards the street from hundreds of feet up.

"Master Splinter!" yelled Leo in horror before picking up one of the ropes, tossing the grappling hook to an overhead pipe before leaping down and hanging onto the rope, going after Splinter.

Raph and Don engaged the Shredder in battle before Mikey leaped up, managing to catch the Shredder with a shot, knocking him through the window, to a side of the building where there was a balcony along with a bridge over a small pond.

Leo continue fall from a huge height, managing to catch Master Splinter, before pulling him up and setting him down along a large ledge on the building.

"Master Splinter, I'll go get help, I'll get the others, I'll..." started Leo but Splinter cut him off by holding up a hand weakly.

"Leonardo, this is no longer about me," said Splinter in a soft weak voice, barely able to breath due to the hit he sustained from the Shredder. "Return to the battle, protect your brothers, defeat the Shredder."

"But Sensei..." started Leo.

Go, I will be with you, in spirit," said Splinter before fading into a semiconscious state.

"It will be alright, Master Splinter," said Leo in a low voice. "I'll be back, I promise."

Leo placed Splinter's walking stick in his hand before walking off. He walked around the edge of the building before finding Donatello's back hanging from the side. Leo reached up, pulling out the protective glove before placing it up. Leonardo then pulled the Sword of Tengu out of his sheaths ready for action.

Don, Raph, and Mikey were not faring that well as the Shredder lifted up Raph and tossed him in a vicious manner into Mikey and Don. All three Turtles flew backwards and Shredder stalked forward, preparing for the kill.

"Get away from my brothers, Shredder!" cried a voice that caused the Shredder to turn around.

Leonardo was in front of the Shredder, the Sword of Tengu ready.

"The Sword of Tengu!" exclaimed Shredder before getting blasted back by a bolt of energy and flying through the bridge into the water. A few seconds later, Shredder pulled himself up. "This cannot be happening, I cannot lose!"

Shredder reached up as Leonardo had the sword at ready and pushed a button. An opening in the side of the button building slid open and a half a dozen Foot Ninjas on flying vehicles soared out of the building, blasting electrical waves at the Turtles.

"Don, it appears there are about a half a dozen vehicles heading straight for you guys," said Harry in an anxious voice over the other side of the shell cell. "They appear to be another automatic defense of the Shredder."

"We see them Harry, but the problem is, they see us as well," said Donatello, managing to leap out of the way of a laser blast from the flying vehicle.

The Flying Vehicles sailed around, knocking the Sword of Tengu out of Leo's hand and into a pile of rocks on the balcony. Raph quickly moved into position as a vehicle flew in close. In a blink of an eye, Raph propelled himself right towards the vehicle and kicked the pilot off. As the pilot dropped to the ground, Raph proceeded to chase another flying vehicle across the city, blasting at it with the laser propulsion functions within, causing the Foot Ninja's vehicle to hover from side to side uncertainly.

Two of the Mysterious Guardians arrived at the sight of the Foot Headquarters. The lead guardian pressed the button on his armband, which revealed a holographic screen, talking to the Mysterious Council of the TCRI Building.

"My lords, it's the Turtles," declared the lead guardian. "They have engaged the Shredder in the heart of his empire and they have brought with them the Sword of Tengu."

"The Sword of Tengu," started the first Council Member.

"This could prove to be," continued the second Council Member.

"Disastrous," finished the third Council Member.

"With all due respect, the Sword of Tengu could be their salvation," said the lead Guardian.

"Or our destruction," said the first Council Member.

"Ready your men Guardian," commanded the second Council Member.

"And make sure the Turtles are victorious," said the third Council Member.

"Understood," said the lead Guardian with a nod of his head, as he prepared for battle.

Deep with the TCRI building, Agent .19 breathed a sigh of relief after overhearing the communication of the council. If the Turtles had survived, that meant Harry in likely had survived as well. Her memories still had not completely returned and she felt she needed to see something familiar from her life before they were blocked from them to completely return.

The Shredder made a move for the Sword of Tengu but Leo leaped in front of him, katanas at the ready. Leo stepped forward, daring the Shredder to engage him in battle.

"Elite Foot Ninja to me," said Shredder shortly as his Elite Guard teleported in front of him. "Finish this."

The spear wielding Foot Elite leaped up but Leo barely had enough time to block a deadly blow with his katana before kicking the Foot Elite back a few steps but he got whacked behind with the flat end of the axe from the axe wielding Foot Elite member.

In the lair, Raph flying on his vehicle, being blasted at by two Foot Ninjas on the same vehicle. In a second, the vehicle of one of the Foot Ninjas was blasted out from under him causing the Foot Ninja to parachute out. Raph looked down and saw Don below. Raph gave Don thumbs up.

"Don't thank me, thank Stockman," said Don, indicating the robot arm from Stockman's cybernetic suit he had just blasted the Foot Ninja out of the sky with.

Leo barely blocked the double-edged sword back before getting jabbed in the midsection by the handle of the trident from the trident wielding Elite Foot. The turtle rolled out of the way of weapons being jabbed into the ground and barely managed to hold both back before having to deal with a third member of the Foot Elite, the spear wielding elite.

The Shredder made a move as if to go for the Sword of Tengu when Leo was busy engaging the Foot Elite in combat but Raph threw himself out of his flying vehicle as another Foot Ninja driven vehicle crashed with it head on. The wreckage of the two vehicles fell from the sky, burying the sword underneath. Raph joined Leo in battle, blocking the spear wielding Elite Foot Ninja attack with his Sai.

"Hey, Leo, save some for me," said Raph, blocking another shot and rolling underneath before kicking the spear wielding Foot Elite member in the back.

"I can finish this Raph," said Leo, as he battled with the double-edged sword Foot Elite member, clanging his Katanas to the sword.

"I know but what's the fun in that, bro?" inquired Raph, avoiding getting impaled by the spear wielding Foot Elite member.

"Besides, we're family," said Don rolling in and blocking the trident wielding Foot Elite member's attack on Leo with his bo staff before spinning up and jabbing the end of the bo staff into the Foot Elite member's midsection, doubling him over in pain. "We finish this together."

"Besides," said Mikey, who had just rejoined the battle, wrapping the nunchucks around the battle-axe wielding Foot Elite member before kicking him back. "The cable's out at the lair anyway."

Mikey leaped up, ducking a battle axe swing before whacking the Foot Elite in the back with the nunchucks. Don aimed his Bo staff, to crack the Foot Elite member in the chest before spinning around and kicking him in the back before smashing the Bo Staff over his downed body. Raph blocked the spear before slicing it in half with a Sai shot. Raph then bounced up, kicking the Foot Elite in the back at the same time; Leo disarmed his foe and kicked him in the back. The two Foot Elite members connected head on.

The Turtles took a few seconds to catch their breath having defeated the Shredder's Elite Guard. They then walked over where the Shredder was frantically digging through the wreckage that the Sword of Tengu was burying in, in an attempt to looking for the Sword.

"The Sword, the Sword, I must have it," said Shredder in a desperate voice.

"It's over Shredder!" announced Leo.

The Shredder turned to the Turtles before walking over to a section of the balcony with a stone structure with a glass orb on top, laughing evilly.

"This is my fortress, my stronghold, did you think you can defeat me?" said Shredder in a sadistic voice. "I will be the one who decides when it is over, reptiles."

The villain gave a twist on the glass orb and a section of the floor of the balcony slid open before a platform rose up, revealing a few dozen Foot Ninjas.

"Ah give me a break," said Mikey in an agitated voice, as the Foot Ninjas advanced on the Turtles, weapons raised in the air.

"On your toes guys, this could get rough," said Leo.

"Well, no one said this was going to be easy," said Raph, preparing for a fight.

As these words left Raph's mouth, the lead Guardian leapt directly into the fray, unexpectedly.

"Easy, perhaps not," said the Lead Guardian. "But perhaps we can lend a hand."

"We?" asked Raph before another dozen Guardians also appeared in front of the Turtles, before pulling swords out, ready for action.

"Hurry, the Shredder must be kept away from the Sword of Tengu," said the Lead Guardian.

"I'll take care of Shredder," said Leo, running off to do so.

The Guardians quickly and efficiently took on the Foot Ninjas in battle. One of the Guardians snapped a Foot Ninja's sword in half with a vicious swing of his own sword before picking up the Foot Ninja and throwing him into three of his fellow Foot Ninjas. The battle raged on fiercely, with many Foot Ninjas finding their weapons destroyed and getting knocked down every which way.

"The Sword, the Sword, I must have it, it needs to be mine," said Shredder digging through the wreckage in a frantic matter.

The Turtles moved in, prepared for the most crucial battle of their lives, stepping in front of Shredder but it was too late, as the Shredder managed to locate the Sword of Tengu, pulling it out of the pile. As Shredder held the sword, electrical waves wrapped around his body armor as Shredder appeared to be one with the Sword of Tengu.

"Ah the power, I had nearly forgotten," said Shredder in a fond voice as the sword vibrated in his hand. "The sword, which I laid villages to waste. That I brought castles to ground, and used to vanquished armies. The sword that I used to conquer Japan and bring power to the Tokuguwa Clan, it is mine once again."

The Shredder brought the sword up, blasting the Turtles with a propelled shockwave, knocking them all back. It was clear the Shredder was an expert at wielding this weapon. Shredder walked over, pointing the sword at Leonardo, preparing to deliver a killing blow to the Turtle. Raph quickly rolled into action to save his brother.

"No!" yelled Raph, blocking the Sword of Tengu with his Sais and causing the blast of energy to fly upwards into the sky.

Shredder swung the sword but the Turtles threw themselves on the ground, ducking the blast from the Sword.

"Get in close," commanded Leo. "It's the only way."

The Shredder swung the sword again, but the Turtles leaped up over the blast of energy before Leo managed to pin the Shredder's weapon into the ground. Raph put his Sais underneath the Sword of Tengu and jerked up, causing the weapon to fly out of the Shredder's reach. Shredder made a move but Don tucked his Bo Staff behind the Shredder's legs allowing Mikey propel himself right at the Shredder with a kick. The Shredder crashed down to the ground hard.

Leo plunged his swords into the ground before he rushed right towards the sword, right over the wreckage. Don found the protective glove on the ground.

"Leo, catch!" yelled Don tossing the glove to Leo who caught it, putting it on. Leo grabbed the Sword of Tengu before he attempted to plunge it into the Shredder but Shredder escaped his face by jumping to the side and the Sword was rammed harmlessly into the ground where Shredder was located a moment before.

The Shredder removed Leo's swords out of the ground, preparing for an attack, while staring down the Turtle from twenty feet away. Leonardo leapt up with the Sword of Tengu as the Shredder leapt up with Leo's katanas in hand. Both fighters clashed swords in mid air before falling down to the ground.

Leo winced, his shoulder cut up in the impact of the swords clashing but that was nothing compared to what happened to the Shredder. The Shredder's head slid off his body before the body dropped to its knees and falling down, as his decapitated head rolled out of the distance out of sight.

"Dude," said Mikey in awe, seeing the fate of the Shredder.

The Guardians looked at the final fate of the Shredder.

"The Shredder has been defeated," said the lead Guardian in awe. "Incredible."

The Guardians bowed at the Turtles before leaped off, as quickly as they appeared.

Harry had a mixture of pleasure and disappointment. The pleasure was of course for the Shredder being defeated but the disappointment was not getting to do the deed himself.

"There's only one thing left to do," said Leo.

"Yeah, make sure the Foot can never use this place for anything again." said Raph.

Don walked over to a fuse box on the balcony, before breaking it open with the Bo Staff before removing a wire and expertly connecting it to Stockman's robotic arm.

"Stockman's radium power cells, combined with the Sword of Tengu, should fry most if not all of the tech in this place," remarked Don. "Let a rip Leo."

Leo raised the Sword of Tengu into the air before plunging it into the robotic arm. An electrical impulse went through the sword, to the arm, and then to the wire connected with the fuse box before reaching the building, sizzling what remained inside. The lighted Foot Symbol on the building sizzled for a minute before going completely dark.

"Come on, let's go get Master Splinter and go home," said Leo in a final tone of voice.

The Turtles walked over to where Leo put Master Splinter but there was nothing there but Splinter's walking stick.

"Master Splinter is..." said Raph in a horrified voice.

No!" yelled Don. "How could this..."

"He was just here a few minutes ago," said Leo in a desperate tone of voice. "He couldn't have gotten up under his own power."

"Unless someone dragged him off," said Raph angrily.

"You don't think he's," said Mikey but trailing off but everyone knew what Mikey thinking before he stopped.

"I hope not, Mikey," said Don in a low tone of voice.

Leo heard the police sirens below; no doubt the law enforcement was coming to investigate what had happened at Foot Headquarters tonight.

"Come, we can't stay," said Leo before looking at a helicopter that Shredder had stashed on the side of the building. "To the helicopter quickly."

The Turtles went in the helicopter, an air of uncomfortable silence due to the missing of their father, their Sensei, Master Splinter.

The Turtles arrived home as Harry was dozing at the desk but jerked up at the sound of his brothers coming home. Harry stopped paying attention to what happened after the Shredder had been defeated.

"You did it," said Harry in a tired but pleased voice but he stopped when he saw that not all of his family was in attendance. "Where's Master Splinter?"

Leo and Don exchanged uneasy looks before Don decided he did better break the horrible news.

"Harry, he's gone," said Don. "Vanished, without a trace."

"Gone, how could he be gone?" inquired Harry attempting to keep his voice steady but failing.

"We don't know, Harry," said Leo.

"We have to find him, he could be captured or in trouble or..." said Harry before his voice failed him.

"Yes, Harry, we have to find him," said Leo in a calm voice that was cracking under the pressure of the grief.

"The problem is knowing where to look," said Raph in an agitated voice.

Harry said nothing else, simply not trusting himself not to break down. He did not remember his parents due to being young when Voldemort killed them and the Dursleys did not qualify as parental figures. Master Splinter, his adoptive father, was gone, without a trace. Harry hoped it would turn out for the best but feared the worst had happened.


	21. Chapter 21: Black Revelation

**Chapter 21: Black Revelation**

Reluctantly Harry returned to Hogwarts Sunday night, but the fact remained Master Splinter was still missing, his fate unknown. Harry's brothers would search for him but with the Battle Shell in desperate need of repairs after the battle with the Shredder, progress would be slow. The Boy-Who-Lived stubbornly refused to give up hope at all that his adoptive father remained somehow alive and safe, even through a more logical, paranoid part of Harry feared something had gone horribly wrong on that night at Foot Headquarters.

Harry's change in mood had not gone unnoticed by his closest friends in the brief moments Harry had let down his guard outside of the public eye. To Hogwarts, nothing seemed to have changed involving Harry Potter, other than the fact their appeared to be a couple of Azkaban escapees after his head. However, Harry went quiet for several minutes at a time, deep in reflection about what had went wrong on that night.

Harry was helping Ginny with homework a few days after the Foot Battle and Luna had joined them on this occasion.

"Harry, what is with you lately?" asked Ginny. "Every since you came back from New York you have been..."

"Absentminded and sorrowful," supplied Luna helpfully.

"Yes, as if something happened," said Ginny. "Harry, you know you can tell me, I won't say anything to the others if you don't want me to."

"Nor will I," said Luna.

"Okay, let me ask you a question first of all," said Harry. Luna and Ginny nodded, allowing Harry to proceed. "How would you feel if your father just vanished one day, without a trace and you didn't know if he was alive or not?"

Ginny shivered, that was not a pleasant thought at all, but Luna somehow had the presence of mind to answer.

"I would feel like it was the end of the world as I knew it and I sure wouldn't feel fine," remarked Luna.

"So this is what this is about Harry, your Master Splinter has vanished, but how did this happen?" asked Ginny.

"He was severely injured attempting to attack the people who did this to me," said Harry, indicating to the scar underneath his eye. "Unfortunately he was knocked out of a window and was badly injured. My brother Leonardo managed to save him, placing him on a ledge of a window to rest. After my brothers defeated the leader of this organization, they found he was gone. Who took him or how, we unfortunately do not know?"

Harry went quiet right there, as if that was the end of the concentration. The Boy Who Lived made an executive decision to tell Hermione, Daphne, and Theodore later; as due to them being his oldest friends, he felt he owed them an explanation.

"I still can't believe you did that, Hermione," said Theodore in an amused voice.

"What I can't believe is it took you that long to ditch the idiotic subject in the first place!" said Daphne in an excited voice.

"Really, what happened?" asked Harry in a quiet voice as he joined Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione outside during break.

It was the Monday before the big Quidditch House Cup final between Ravenclaw and Slytherin, which would be held during the weekend. Flint had confronted Harry in the hallway after Study of Ancient Runes and informed him that they had extended practice tonight, for three hours as opposed to two. Rumor had it that the Ravenclaw team was at its most impressive and Flint's ego would not let him lose what he believed to be his last Quidditch Match at Hogwarts, providing of course if Flint managed to pass his final exams this year.

"This is brilliant," said Theodore. "Hermione, fed up with one death prediction too many, decided to storm out of Trelawney's class in agitation."

"Yes, what was it, the curtain of darkness follows you everywhere, prepared to consume you?" asked Daphne in a mock cryptic voice.

Harry gave a brief chuckle, but his heart wasn't really into it. He had been in contact with his brothers and they had not made any headway on finding Splinter. As the days went on, hope kept lessening but until they found a body, whether alive or dead, the search was on.

"The old bat had it coming," said Hermione, who looked extremely tired and about five years older than she should have in the face due to the time turner. "I think she's rather disappointed, it means she needs to find a new punching bag."

Harry just nodded, remembering how everything just seemed to fall apart recently due to Splinter's disappearance and his brothers appearing to lose their sense of direction. In addition, another problem presented itself, as Hagrid's hippogriff, Buckbeak, had lost his trial. There was an appeal but Harry felt that Lucius Malfoy had manipulated the outcome towards an inevitable execution before the trial even started. And then, there was the Marauder's Map getting confiscated by Lupin when he caught Harry and Ginny coming back from another Hogsmeade trip where thankfully they did not run into Bellatrix Lestrange on this occasion. Lupin did not punish them for their little unauthorized trip, with the exception of taking the map, warning Harry of the dangers that it held. Harry had a strange feeling that Lupin knew more he was letting on about the map but Harry decided to let the matter drop, as he did not want to push his luck into getting into more trouble.

"Harry, are you listening to me?" asked Hermione as Harry jerked himself out of his thoughts.

"Yes," said Harry deceitfully. Hermione gave him a stern look, causing Harry to change his tune before Hermione blew up at him, as it was obvious Hermione was becoming even more short-tempered due to the constant use of the time turner. "No, Hermione, I have so much on my mind, it's consuming my every thought. It seems like every step on take, there is something sinister lurking."

"Harry, everyone in the first two years of the school likes you, they respect you, they look up to you," said Daphne. "So, I don't get why you are saying..."

"Daphne, he is obviously talking about his Sensei being missing and two psychopaths out of Azkaban after his blood," said Theodore. "Among other things."

"The Hippogriff being executed, Malfoy's continued existence," added Daphne. "Yeah, I get where you are going."

"Harry, I know you are upset with Master Splinter missing," said Hermione. "But sulking around isn't going to solve anything."

"Hermione, when my brothers were missing last year, the only reason I did not go to pieces because of Master Splinter and his assurances," said Harry in a cool voice. "Without him, it seems as if my entire family is falling apart. My brothers are simply not ready to deal with a crisis on this magnitude and even I am less ready than they are, so it's just a messed up no matter how you look at it."

"Harry, everything will work out," said Hermione, in an attempt to calm Harry, but this did nothing to calm Harry.

"Hermione, my bloody father is missing, so excuse me for being just a little upset!" cried Harry, raising his voice and causing Hermione, Theodore, and Daphne to cringe, as there appeared to be a frigid wind in the air, the only thing lower in temperature could be the feeling the aura of Dementors give up.

"Wow, Potter, even you could not possibly be dense enough to forget your father was killed by the Dark Lord years ago," drawled a familiar voice.

Harry spun around; it was Draco Malfoy along with Crabbe and Goyle. His simple presence was the equivalent is rubbing salt into someone's open wounds to Harry. Daphne and Theodore exchanged uneasy looks. As Ginny was not present at this time, it appeared there would be no one to hold Harry back from smearing Malfoy all over the castle walls if he said one wrong thing to many. Filch would have a horrible mess to clean up if Malfoy did not be quiet.

"It was a great loss, that blood traitor but I am surprised even you cannot remember it, Potter," said Malfoy. Harry had his arms folded, taking a deep breath and mentally counting to ten.

"Malfoy, you idiot, if you piss Harry off this time, you may not live to see another day," hissed Daphne.

"So I'd suggest you just take your goons and take a walk," said Theodore.

Malfoy sneered before continuing to bait Harry.

"I wonder if your Mudblood mother dropped you on your head when you were an infant, Potter," said Malfoy. "I wouldn't be surprised, people of Muggle descent should not be allowed to be near children, as they are no better than animals, like that beast of that oaf of a Gamekeeper has that my father is going to make sure is going to be executed. I, Draco Malfoy, will..."

A jet of red light blasted Malfoy into the wall of the castle, causing him to hit with a sickening thud. Malfoy groaned in pain as Crabbe and Goyle rushed over to help him up.

"Harry, was that really necessary?" asked Daphne as Theodore attempted to conceal an amused smile.

"Don't look at me, I didn't blast him into that wall," said Harry defensively.

Daphne opened her mouth but Hermione cut her off.

"I blasted the little git into the wall, so don't go blaming Harry!" cried Hermione in an angry voice. "He needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut about things he doesn't understand!"

With those words, Hermione stormed off angrily.

"Hermione's has really gone off the deep end lately," said Theodore shaking his head.

"I wonder what caused this little outburst," said Daphne.

Harry knew exactly why but it was not his place to tell about the time turner he figured out Hermione having. He just hoped his friend had the sense to turn in the object at the end of the year, as Hermione's slow descent into madness was evident due to overexposure with the time turner. Harry hated to force the issue to make his friends do anything, but he just might have to break tradition at the end of year if Hermione did not find any logic in turning in the time turner.

"Win or else," said Flint in a short tone of voice, as the Slytherin Team prepared to set out to the field for the Quidditch House Cup Final against Ravenclaw. This was for all the marbles, whomever won this match would be the Quidditch House Cup Champion.

Harry prepared to focus on looking for the snitch and nothing else as both the Ravenclaw and Slytherin teams flew into the air ready for action. Flint was correct in that the Ravenclaw chasers were good but the Slytherin chasers were prepared for this and about fifteen minutes into the game, the score was tied thirty a piece. Harry saw the snitch and shot towards it, with the Ravenclaw Seeker Cho Chang behind him but there was no way she was going to catch up to Harry, unless of course Harry would get blasted full on by two bludgers by the Ravenclaw Beaters. Harry managed to shoot up, avoiding the brunt of the contact due to the speed of his Firebolt.

"Once again Harry Potter has eluded certain death in the middle of the Quidditch Game thanks to his Firebolt," said Lee. "The Quaffle is in and Ravenclaw is ahead forty to thirty."

Flint looked about ready to throw a fit and after a quick conversation with the Slytherin Beaters, they blasted the Bludgers at the Ravenclaw Keeper, causing him to fly backwards, allowing Slytherin to score a succession of goals, bumping the score to sixty to forty in favor of Slytherin.

Harry spotted the snitch and shot up towards it. This time he would not be denied.

"Potter has seen the Snitch and Ravenclaw Seeker Chang is right behind him but is being put further and further behind due to the acceleration on Potter's Firebolt!" exclaimed Lee. "Potter nearly has the Snitch in his grasp, can he get it. Ohh tough luck!"

The Ravenclaw Beater hit a bludger and Harry had to shoot up into the air to avoid it. The Snitch disappeared once again as Flint became more and more frustrated as the game went on, seeing the Ravenclaw Chasers bump up the score to a sixty to sixty tie.

"You all better get it in gear!" barked Flint. "Potter, we need a capture of the Snitch as soon as possible. Bole, Derrick, assault the Chasers with your hardest shots, don't let them anywhere near the Quaffle."

Harry circled around the pitch and once again the Snitch was taunting him from high above. From what Harry could tell, Cho seemed to be following Harry's progress rather than searching for the Snitch on her own. With an evil grin, Harry decided to do something deceptively sneaky that would even make Flint wince at the pure evil.

Harry shot down towards the ground, pretending he saw the Snitch on the ground. Cho followed him closely.

"Potter is doing something, has he seen the Snitch on the ground?" asked Lee. "Chang is following him and Potter is going to hit the ground, destroying that priceless Firebolt if he is not careful. A fine piece of work, with its acceleration..."

"JORDAN!" barked McGonagall. "Talk about the match and not about your love for Firebolts if you please."

Harry stopped about six inches above the ground, as Slytherin managed to put another goal in, bumping the score up to seventy to sixty. Positioning his Firebolt, Harry soared seemingly towards the bottom of the goalpost as Cho followed him closely. In an instant, Harry shot up into the air before he hit the Goalpost. Looking in horror about how she was duped by a Slytherin, Cho managed to leap off the broomstick before she could crash into the goalpost. The broom was not so lucky as it hit the goalpost.

"Potter has just taken the competition out with a deceptively sneaky move," said Lee. "He now has free reign to look for the Snitch, but Flint has illegally grabbed the broomstick of Ravenclaw Chaser Henderson. A vile and sadistic..."

"JORDAN!" yelled McGonagall.

"A vicious and down right cruel..." amended Lee.

"Jordan, if you cannot commentate in an unbiased way..." began McGonagall, while leaving her threat hanging.

"All right a rather interesting play, definitely innovative," said Lee. "It allows a foul for Ravenclaw which Keeper Bletchely does not block. We are once again tied up, seventy to seventy."

Harry had free reign to look after the Snitch with the Ravenclaw Seeker out of the running but that did not help that he was being trailed by two angry looking upper year Ravenclaw Beaters. It seemed that while the third year and below had gotten the hint that Harry was not evil due to being in Slytherin, the majority of the upper years, with a few exceptions, tended to still see Harry as the personification of evil.

Fortunately, Bole and Derrick were on the job, managing to shield the Slytherin Seeker from the vicious and vile attack, blocking the Bludgers expertly before smacking them back, causing the Ravenclaw Beaters to scatter.

"Slytherin Beaters Bole and Derrick are on the job, as the Ravenclaw Beaters seem to be, pardon the expression, downright Slytherin dealing with the Slytherin Seeker Harry Potter," said Lee.

Another goal was put in by Ravenclaw, putting them up eighty to seventy as Flint seemed to be going positively insane at the talent exhibited by the Ravenclaw Chasers but Harry managed to see the Snitch floating a couple hundred feet away. He shot up into the air. Harry would not be denied the Snitch this time. His Firebolt was zooming up towards the Snitch, his hand extended outwards. Harry managed to swerve out of the way of the Bludger, before clasping his hand into the Snitch. Harry's supporters in the stands cheered and Slytherin won the Quidditch House Cup for the ninth straight year!

Flint walked up, greedily taking the Quidditch Cup and holding it up into the air like he did all the work and won the match single handily. Ginny, Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione joined Harry on the field as Harry was glaring at Flint. If it were not for his brilliant playing this season, there would be no chance in hell that Slytherin would have won that Quidditch Cup and Flint was taking all the glory.

"Harry, that was brilliant," said Ginny, hugging her friend.

"Yes, there is no way Flint could have taught you something that brilliant," said Daphne.

Harry just nodded, looking at the Quidditch House Cup and Flint's hogging of said object. He realized Flint could have the infernal cup, as the cheers from his supporters in the crowd, mostly the younger year Slytherins were enough of a victory for Harry. Plus, Flint leaving after this year regardless of how he did on his NEWTs was also a joyous celebration.

Of course, after the Quidditch Victory, Harry had to take an unfortunate trip back to reality. Exams were coming up and Harry had to force himself to focus, so he can continue keeping his grades up at an achievable rate. He had still talked to his brothers daily, but their efforts to find Master Splinter had still not been successful. Harry was beginning to fear something had dreadfully gone wrong that night at Foot Headquarters.

Of course, on the day before Exams started, Hermione received a note from Hagrid.

"Buckbeak's appeal," said Hermione to Daphne, Theodore, and Harry. "It's set for the Sixth of June."

"That is the last day of Exams," said Daphne.

"They are...oh they're bringing an executioner!" shrieked Hermione.

"What?" asked Theodore in an incredulous voice before taking the letter. "Yes, they are, Walden MacNair, quite a nasty piece of work that guy is."

"Ah yes, that nutcase that tried to kill my brothers," said Harry. "So, Lucius had screwed Hagrid over this time. I wish we could save Buckbeak but that would mean getting Hagrid in trouble and I really don't want to do anything to get him sent back to Azkaban."

A moment of uncomfortable silence, as Harry did not know what to do. He was supposed to be the savior of the Wizarding World, the leader of the light, the person who had all the answers, but while he could answer pretty much everyone else's problems, his problems continued to elude solving.

However, Harry prepared to cast everything else out of his mind, focusing on exams. Harry believed he did rather well, especially on Lupin's final exam, which appeared to be some sort of obstacle course involving all of the creatures they learned this year.

"Excellent Harry," muttered Lupin as Harry finished the obstacle course, with a smirk on his face out how he had tackled the Boggart. "Full marks, I believe."

Of course, for every good thing that happened to Harry, something bad had to happen.

"Oh this is so horrible," said Hermione in an exasperated voice, as she struggled to keep from breaking down. Daphne and Theodore were standing behind her with solemn looks on their faces.

"What?" asked Harry, who had just joined the three of them.

"Look at this," said Hermione in a shaky voice.

Harry took the note, reading it. The note was barely legible due to splotch marks from tears.

**We lost. Buckbeak will be executed at Sundown. Don't come. I'd appreciate it under normal circumstances but I can't afford to have you get into trouble. **

**Hagrid**

"Damn Malfoys," said Harry. "They'll pay for this."

"Now, Harry, don't do anything stupid," cautioned Hermione.

Harry shook his head angrily.

"Not this time, Hermione," said Harry. "I'm sick and tired of letting everyone roll over me. The next person who crosses me will be sorry. Be it Malfoy, Voldemort, the Minister of Magic himself, Dumbledore, it really doesn't matter."

Harry felt the floor shaking beneath him from the outburst of emotionally charged accidental magic.

"Harry, please calm down, before you..." said Hermione.

"What's happening, what's going on?" asked Ginny, who had joined the three Slytherins and Hermione at that moment.

"Hagrid lost, Buckbeak is going to be executed, Harry wants to kill Lucius Malfoy," summarized Theodore.

"Actually, I want to kill both Lucius and Draco right about now, since it was both them that brought this headache to life," hissed Harry.

"So, you know, business as usual," said Daphne.

"Okay," said Ginny, carefully choosing her words. "So we need to visit Hagrid, even through we can't do anything."

"I agree with Ginny," said Harry in a weak voice, obviously drained from the outburst of accidental magic and mentally cursing the power blocks that Dumbledore placed on him, that he still could not figure out how to get removed. All he knew as it took someone exceptionally powerful.

"Yes, but Hagrid suggested we shouldn't..." began Hermione.

"Since, we did we listen to what others were saying, Hermione," said Ginny. "Harry and I can go down there if you three don't want to."

"No, I'll go to keep you two out of trouble but the question is how?" asked Hermione. "Security is rather tight due to Black and Lestrange being on the loose."

"We can use my Invisibility Cloak," said Harry in a quiet voice.

"So, Harry, how long have you been keeping this little possession a secret," said Ginny in a calm voice.

"Two years, I believe, nearly to the day," said Harry.

"Never mind that, but can all five of us fit under that?" questioned Daphne.

"No, I'm afraid not," said Harry regrettably. "Only three of us can go."

"Okay, well that shoots that plan in the foot," said Theodore. "So Daphne and I will cover for you three, I would suggest you be back within a couple of hours to avoid awkward questions."

Harry nodded before motioning for Hermione and Ginny to follow him, so he could get the cloak.

Late in the night, just about fifteen minutes before sundown, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny snuck out of the castle underneath the cloak.

"Ow, that was my foot, Hermione," said Ginny in a slightly raised voice.

"Sorry, Ginny, it's hard to move underneath this cloak," said Hermione.

"You two, could you keep it down just a little bit," said Harry in an irritable voice. "We are nearly at Hagrid's hut."

"Sorry," whispered Hermione and Ginny in unison as they reached the hut. Harry reached out from underneath the cloak, knocking on the door.

"Hello," said Hagrid in an uncertain voice as he opened the door, but not seeing anyone. "Who's there?"

"It's Harry, Hermione, and Ginny," whispered Harry. "We are under an invisibility cloak."

"Ya shouldn't have come," said Hagrid in a low voice, but looking grateful all the same. "I suppose you should come in, I was making a cup o' tea just now."

Ginny, Harry, and Hermione entered Hagrid's Hut, awkwardly sitting down at the table as Hagrid pulled out a milk jug, with trembling hands. He could not hold the jug steady and it slipped out of his hand, causing it to splatter on the floor.

"No, Hagrid, I'll get it," said Hermione kindly, as she saw that the gamekeeper looked rather upset.

"Where is Buckbeak anyway?" asked Harry.

"I took him outside, to smell the flowers, to feel the breath, to see the sky before..." said Hagrid before sobbing.

Hermione did not say anything as she cleaned up the spilled milk jug. Harry and Ginny exchanged uncomfortable looks, as it looked like Hagrid was going to go to pieces.

"Hagrid, did Dumbledore try to do anything?" asked Harry, for Hagrid's benefit more than his own. Harry doubted that Dumbledore would help Hagrid unless it fitted into his own agenda.

"He tried but to be honest, he has enough on his plate as it is," said Hagrid in a weak voice before turning to Hermione. "There should be another jug in the cupboard."

Hermione went through the cupboard before pulling the jug out and seeing a very peculiar sight, there appeared to be a rat clinging to the side of it.

"Ginny, Harry, look," said Hermione showing them the jar "It's Ronald's pet rat."

"So Crookshanks is not a bloody mongrel menace that should be put down after all," said Ginny as Harry nodded his head. This was the first time he saw Scabbers up close, but there seemed to be something very strange about the rat, as if Harry had seen it somewhere before and not as Ron Weasley's pet.

Harry was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps outside the door of Hagrid's hut. He looked up for a minute, cursing.

"It's Fudge, some old guy who looks to be a representative of the Department of the Disposal of Magical Creatures, MacNair, Lucius Malfoy, and Dumbledore," said Harry. "Quickly, under the cloak"

Harry threw the cloak over himself and Ginny, as Ginny held Scabbers who was frantically attempting to escape her grip as of sensing something bad was about to happen.

"Figures Lucius would be here to see the result of his son's handiwork," said Hermione darkly.

"About the only noteworthy thing Draco has done in his life," said Ginny as Scabbers struggled. "Stay still. Trust Ron to have such a mental pet."

"I'll let ya out the back way," said Hagrid, opening the back door with a trembling hand. "Now, go, you'll all be in trouble, especially you Harry due to Black an' Lestrange being on the loose."

Harry, Ginny, and Hermione walked out of Hagrid's hut with Scabbers still struggling like a mad rat. They circled around slowly, to avoid making noise, not able to hear a noise. They could hear voices from inside Hagrid's hut.

"Hagrid, Minister, if you would sign this form, please," said the representative of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures.

"We need to get out of here," muttered Harry. "C'mon, no need to witness a traumatic experience unless we can avoid it."

Ginny seemed to have trouble moving, due to her struggles in keeping Ron's rat still.

"Ginny, we need to move," said Harry. "They are coming outside, you two really should not witness this."

"I would Harry, but this rat will not be still," said Ginny. "You mangy little...oww...the little thing bit me."

Harry, Hermione, and Ginny managed to go around the hut, just as Harry could hear the sound of the axe swishing into the air and smashing into something. A cry of anger was heard but Harry could not bother paying attention. He could not bring himself to turn around. The worst had happened, it had come to pass.

"No!" whispered Harry in a horrified tone of voice.

"They didn't," said Hermione, looking rather horrified and tears began to flow down her face.

"They did," said Ginny grimly, but Scabbers had seized this distraction to shoot out of Ginny's fingers, to run away. "Fine, be that way."

Harry looked and saw a black dog following Scabbers closely. Scabbers seemed rather horrified to see the dog and gave a squeak before running into the other direction.

"That's strange," whispered Harry.

"Yeah, since when do dogs threaten rats, it's normally cats that do that kind of thing," said Ginny.

"Look," muttered Hermione, as Crookshanks appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Scabbers by the tail and dragging him off into the distance, followed quickly by the dog.

"So, what are we waiting for, let's follow them and see where they are going," said Harry.

"Harry, are you insane?" asked Hermione in a desperate voice.

"Yes," said Harry absentmindedly as Ginny loyally went with Harry, under the cover of the cloak. Hermione gave a sigh, before following the two Slytherins.

Harry threw off the cloak and saw the dog disappear below the Whomping Willow. It seemed still for a moment.

"Let's go before this murderous thing starts moving again," said Harry, expertly rolling into the hole. Ginny followed a few seconds later.

"C'mon Hermione, you can do it," said Ginny.

"I'm not as coordinate as you two," said Hermione desperately before seeing the tree beginning to come back to life. Fearfully, Hermione dove towards the hole but she was not fast enough as a branch clipped the back of her leg.

"Hermione, stay still," said Harry.

Hermione nodded, wincing as she felt tremendous pain shooting through her knee from where the branch of the tree hit.

"Ginny, pull her in on three," said Harry, motioning for Ginny to grab onto Hermione's arms. "One, Two, Three."

Ginny and Harry yanked Hermione into the hole in the tree and it was only a second too soon as the branch smashed viciously in the ground where Hermione's body had just been. If they had not timed that right, there friend would have been ripped in half by the murderous Whomping Willow.

"Hermione, are you okay?" asked Ginny with a look of concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Hermione, wincing in pain and blood dripping from her leg down onto the floor. She took a couple of steps forward but her leg gave out. "Just leave me here, I'll just slow you down."

"With Black and Lestrange on the loose, you must have lost it!" hissed Ginny, who along with Harry, helped Hermione up, helping her walk.

They walked down a corridor before appearing in a room with furniture that appeared to be ripped into pieces. Harry looked around, wand at the ready with the arm he was not using to support Hermione. Ginny did the same thing, ready for an attack at a moment's notice.

"Where are we?" asked Ginny.

"This is...The Shrieking Shack," said Hermione, noticing the boards on the windows.

"Doesn't look haunted to me," said Harry before looking at the furniture. "I doubt ghosts, if there were any, do stuff like that either."

"I agree with Harry, this place is not all that it seems," said Ginny, looking around the Shrieking Shack.

Crookshanks had Scabbers cornered; it appeared the rat had run out of room. Harry looked at the shaggy black dog, which had just turned into a man. Not just any man. The two girls screamed in horror as a gaunt looking face of a man who looked like he hadn't showered in years stared at them. A fact that had been seen in the papers many times recently.

"Sirius Black," hissed Harry in an angry tone of voice.


	22. Chapter 22: The Traitor Unmasked

**Chapter Twenty-Two: The Traitor Unmasked **

Black held up a wand, pointed at Harry, Hermione, and Ginny.

"Expelliarmus," said Black quietly as the wands flew out of the hands of Harry, Ginny, and Hermione and into it. "I do apologize about that, but I can't have you delaying my revenge."

"Well, here I am, Black," said Harry angrily his patience having reached an end. "Revenge away Death Eater, it is not like every other subordinate of that delusional half blood Voldemort has not taken a shot at me recently. Come on do it, kill me."

Ginny and Hermione both look horrified at their friend's bold statement but Harry was not going to back down, not this time. Black stunned him last time they met due to moment of indecision.

"Harry, you are not what I'm after," said Black in a calm voice. "It's a complicated story but..."

Scabbers managed to slip away from Crookshanks in the disturbance and shoot underneath the bed, squeaking madly.

"C'mon, Peter, come out and face the music," said Black wickedly. "Thirteen Years overdue but I will finally do the murder I was put in Azkaban for. Tonight, it will happen, mark my words. For every bit of torment I suffered, I will make you suffer ten times as much."

Black blasted bits of furniture out of the way, as Scabbers squeaked madly underneath the bed. Ginny and Harry exchanged incredulous looks, each wondering if Black has lost his mind, thinking it was the fault of Scabbers, who he was calling Peter for some odd reason, that he got put in Azkaban.

Harry reached into his robes, pulling out his double-edged sword. Black continued to stalk Scabbers as the rat hid underneath the bed, looking rather fearful.

"Accio, rat," said Black, as Scabbers flew into his hand but Harry dived at Black, knocking him to the ground before pulling his wand out of Black's hand. Harry stuck the wand at Black's throat as well as the double-edged sword about four inches away from his ribs. In the confusion, Scabbers dived back underneath the mattress, squeaking madly.

"So, I find the person who sold out my parents to Voldemort," said Harry in a sadistic voice. "The person who damned me to an existence on Number Four Privet Drive for four and a half painstaking years of my life. True, I blame Dumbledore for this most of all, but it is you that I blame, for giving away my parents location."

"Harry, I as good as killed Lily and James," said Black in a desperate tone of voice. "Please, listen, if you know the whole story and..."

Sirius looked up at Harry, he had a dangerous glare in his eyes and Sirius shivered. One wrong move and Sirius was confident that he might pay the price for his rashness. It was obvious right away he inherited James's looks with the exception of his eyes but he had also inherited Lily's temper in addition to her eyes.

"I could care less about whatever well rehearsed rhetoric you came up with," said Harry in a voice that seemed behind all reason. "The fact is my parents are dead, Voldemort killed them, and Sirius Black, it is all your fault. Snape told me how..."

"Snape!" yelled Sirius in an incredulous voice, wondering what the greasy piece of slime could have done to his godson. "What does Snape have to do with you, Harry?"

"Snape is my head of house, as in the Slytherin House," said Harry, as Sirius winced, the unfortunate reminder. "He is the one teacher who I am in closest contact with. He teaches Potions and...WHY IN THE HELL I AM ATTEMPTING TO JUSTIFY THIS FACT TO A MURDERER!"

Ginny and Hermione shivered at the sound of their friend's voice. Harry had been set off big time tonight.

"Snape teaching at Hogwarts, Dumbledore has finally lost his mind," said Sirius. "That Death Eater should have rotted in Azkaban a long time ago, right in the middle of Voldemort's Inner Circle, he should have..."

The door of the Shrieking Shack creaked open interrupting Black's ranting and Harry spun around, seeing Professor Lupin entering the shack, his wand raised.

"Expelliarmus," yelled Lupin, causing Harry's hand to fly out of his hand and into his. In shock, Harry dropped his double-edged sword.

Lupin walked over to Black and Harry wondered what was going to happen. He could not understand how this day could get any worse.

"So he's here, is he not, Sirius?" asked Remus, who had a confused look on his face. He would not have believed it had he not saw Peter's name on the map and the map never lied. "I suspect you switched, without telling anyone, especially me, rather ingenious but I have proof of it."

"Yes, he's here, Remus," said Black in a quiet voice. "We did switch, on Dumbledore's suggestion although I am not too sure how wise taking the old coot's advice was having thirteen years to reflect on it in Azkaban."

"Now, Sirius, I'm sure Dumbledore had the best in mind when he..." said Lupin but Black cut him off.

"Sure, and he also had the best intentions in mind when he allowed me to go Azkaban without a trial," said Sirius in a sarcastic voice.

"Dumbledore let me attend Hogwarts despite my condition," said Lupin in an apparent attempt to reason with Black.

"I am sure he had an ulterior motive in mind, Remus," said Black as if he was discussing the weather. "But we can argue this point after we kill the rat."

Black pointed his wand wickedly underneath the bed, blasting jets of light at Scabbers, who continued to squeak frantically.

"Sirius, cool it," said Remus in an exasperated tone of voice. "You owe Harry the truth, before you become a murderous lunatic."

Harry saw his chance; he reached out, grabbing both his and Lupin's wands before leaping up and grabbing Ginny and Hermione's wands off the bed, tossing them to his two friends. Lupin made a move towards Harry but Harry raised his wand.

"Back off, Professor," said Harry. "Talking civilly to the murderer, seems as if you were in on this as well."

"No, Harry, I have not been helping Sirius in any way, you have got to listen to reason," said Lupin. "Just give us a few minutes to tell you the truth, the whole story."

Sirius pulled himself up and Harry had a dangerous look in his eye that made Sirius shudder.

"Fine, you two have exactly two minutes to convince me that you are not out for my head," said Harry, his wand still held steady towards Sirius.

"Come on, Remus, tell him, I waited thirteen years, I am not going to wait much longer," said Black, his wand still pointed underneath the bed.

"Okay, Sirius, I only know how the story begins," said Lupin. "Years ago, I was bitten by a werewolf. This unfortunate condition left me unable to have a normal life, as the Wizarding World is not tolerate to my kind, as you can tell with the Anti Werewolf Legislation that Fudge has been trying to pass recently."

Harry nodded, he had figured this much out earlier in the year and Hermione did not look all too surprised that Lupin was a werewolf either but Ginny widened her eyes in horror but did not say anything. She knew Lupin was only dangerous one time a month but still it was unsettling to know that the Defense Against the Dark Teacher was something that the general public considered a Dark Creature.

"If Dumbledore did not allow me to attend Hogwarts, I sadly believe I would not have gotten an education in the Wizarding World," said Lupin. "Dumbledore told me that my condition should not get in the way of getting an education, if we took the proper precautions. The Whomping Willow was planted shortly before I came to Hogwarts, in fact I was the very reason it was planted, to keep unintended visitors out."

Harry remained silent, motioning Lupin to continue but keeping one eye on Black, whose focus was underneath the bed, staring at Scabbers.

"I went to Hogwarts and made three great friends," said Lupin fondly, remembering the days where everything just seemed simpler. "Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and James Potter. Despite my explanations to the contrary, they managed to deduce my condition and they did something that made my transformations a little more bearable."

"What do you mean by more bearable?" asked Ginny.

"Well, there is a potion that Professor Snape makes for me..." began Lupin.

"You drink something that Snape made!" cried Black incredulously. "Snape, the Death Eater, the person who was one of Voldemort's most trusted servants, and someone who is simply not to be trusted at all..."

Lupin held his hand up to cut Sirius off.

"Sirius, you can rant about Snape later," said Lupin in a calm voice although it definitely held an edge of warning. "Anyway, Snape made me the Wolfsbane Potion, a potion which allows me to keep my mind during transformation, but before the invention of this potion, the transformations were more painful and violent, especially in my early years. However, Peter, Sirius, and James decided to do something that was a great help to me in my transformations. They became Animagi."

Harry nodded, remembering McGonagall going over it in class this year and how he had begun the process of becoming an Animagus for stealth purposes.

"Unregistered I presume," said Harry calmer than earlier. "So what were the forms?"

"Well, Sirius here was a dog, who we nicknamed Padfoot," said Lupin. "James was a stag, who we dubbed Prongs and Peter was a rat, named Wormtail."

Harry looked at the rat underneath the bed, he was beginning to see the light, putting together everything he had discovered this year. Black broke into the Gryffindor house, not to go after Harry, a Slytherin, but to go after the rat. He could have killed Harry when he had the chance, but he didn't and finally he wondered if Scabbers faking his own death was an attempt to escape another attempt of Black capturing him. Harry still wasn't completely convinced, so he motioned for Lupin to continue.

"And due to my condition, I was named Moony," said Lupin. "Together we were the Marauders."

"Wait, did you say the Marauders?" asked Ginny in excitement before turning to Harry. "Harry, the map, the book."

Harry nodded, it appeared as if like his father and his friends were one in the same with the same people who wrote **Simple Potions For Everyday Pranking** and made the Marauder's Map.

"So that's how you knew what the map was," said Harry, relaxing his wand slightly.

"Indeed Harry, I had wondered how you acquired it, but the Marauder's Map did prove to be an invaluable tool tonight," said Lupin. "I was looking over it tonight, I thought you would go over to Hagrid's and visit due to his Hippogriff being executed. Turns out, I was correct, as you, Ginny, and Hermione left shortly before. However, to my surprise, another guest joined you during your trip back. To my surprise, the dot on the map was labeled Peter Pettigrew."

"And the map doesn't lie," added Black. "So Harry, now do you believe us."

Before Harry could answer, a sound brought him out of his thoughts.

"So, Potter, the so called leader of the light, meeting up with a murderer and a half breed," drawled the voice of Draco Malfoy, who had just walked into the room.

"Malfoy," hissed Harry.

"Yes, it is interesting how I should find you here Potter and you here too Black," said Malfoy. "Rest assure Black, I know of your innocence as I overheard a conversation with my father and Professor Snape just about a month before Hogwarts. It seems to me Potter, that Snape was trying to plant lies in your head to make you mistrust Black."

"Your point is Malfoy," said Harry, wondering how the little ferret had found them.

"Professor Snape is a loyal servant of The Dark Lord," said Malfoy before raising his wand. "Expelliarmus!"

The wands of Ginny, Hermione, Harry, Lupin, and Black had flown out of their hands. Of all the things Harry had expected, getting bested by Malfoy tonight was not one of them. The element of surprise worked in the favor of Draco tonight.

"So, I bet you are all wondering how I figured out all of you were here," said Malfoy before going on. "It's quite simple really. Professor Snape, who was feeling a bit under the weather tonight, decided to entrust me to take a Potion to our loathsome half-breed over here."

"Watch what you're saying Malfoy," hissed Hermione angrily.

"No, Mudblood, I'm the one with the wand and you have nothing you have use to stop me," said Malfoy. "Before I was rudely interrupted by inferior breeding..."

"Wow, Malfoy, I didn't know you made a practice of talking to yourself," said Harry.

"Potter, I don't think you understand the situation here," said Malfoy.

Harry decided not to say anything else, he would let Malfoy tell his little story, when he should have been attempting to get assistance. The Boy Who Lived deduced this would give him time to formulate the plan.

"Once again, I had found a map on the werewolf's desk," said Malfoy. "It appeared to lead towards the Whomping Willow. See, my father, being good friends with the Minister of Magic, knows the one way to get past that monstrosity and passed the secret to his dear son. So I followed the tunnel down here, managing to overhear your story. My father should be rather pleased, as his son would capture one of the famous prisoners of Azkaban. Also, Potter, ruining your name will be the added bonus to today's great victory. So, come quietly, Black, Lupin, and Potter. Perhaps I can persuade the Dementors to give all three of you a little kiss."

"There is just one little flaw in that plan, Draco," said Harry.

"And what is that, Potter?" challenged Malfoy.

Harry kicked Malfoy in the chest with both feet and causing him to fly into the boarded windows in the Shrieking Shack. A sickening smack echoed throughout the shack and Malfoy lied motionless, knocked out from the blow.

"I don't need a wand to beat you," replied Harry, simply before picking up the five wands. "Now that all the unimportant stuff is out of the way, proceed with the story."

"Sirius, I believe the story of the Secret Keeper is yours," said Lupin.

"This is how it went down," said Sirius. "Some crackpot fortuneteller apparently made a prophecy about Voldemort's downfall. It says something about a boy being born as the seventh month dies, by a couple that apparently defied the Dark Lord three times. The day of this proclamation is in late seventy-nine, early eighty. Remus is of course well aware of my opinion of Divination."

"Yes, I believe you said the only reason some Prophecies come true is because some paranoid crackpot hears them and gets all jumpy, allowing them to inadvertently come true," said Remus.

"Exactly Remus, but this Prophecy turned out to apply to two people," said Sirius. "Dumbledore would not say who the second one was, but the first person was Harry. Unfortunately, Voldemort got wind of this, due to one of his Death Eaters overhearing a part of the Prophecy. Interesting enough, Dumbledore seemed rather keen to keep the person who leaked the information a secret, so I wonder what Dumbledore could have gained from this. So, Dumbledore decided to put Lily, James, and Harry under the Fidelius Charm."

"How did my parents feel about Dumbledore making this decision?" asked Harry.

"Lily felt really uneasy about Dumbledore's plan but James somehow talked her into it," said Sirius. "James blindly followed Dumbledore, a little too much for his own health, and I admit there was a time I did too. Of course, we did not know that Dumbledore's advice was go to lead to the eventual downfall of our friendship."

Sirius took a deep breath as Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Remus were all listening to every word single word he was saying.

"I was set to be the Secret Keeper all up until a few days before Voldemort attacked your parents," said Sirius, looking rather uncomfortable. "My mind is really fuzzy, but I seem to remember being all for being the Secret Keeper at the beginning of the meeting with Dumbledore, James, and Lily but at the end, something made me change my mind to Peter. Also, I vaguely remember Dumbledore implying that there was a spy, passing information to Voldemort and I was somehow lead to believe it was Remus."

"I would never betray you guys," said Remus in horror.

"I know that now, but it seemed as if some outside force was tampering with my thoughts," said Sirius. "The switch was made and a few days later, Voldemort killed both James and Lily. He apparently tried to kill you Harry but something happened. All I know is you survived and that is all that mattered to me then or at any other time. I arrived, seeing Hagrid dig you out of the wreckage, a cut shaped like a lightning bolt on your head. Hagrid refused to let me have you, Dumbledore's orders. Now Hagrid is a good man, but he is another person who follows Dumbledore's word too much for his own good."

"That's the night I was sent to the Dursleys, and condemned to four and a half years of hell," said Harry in a low tone of voice.

"Yes that's...wait I thought you were still at the Dursleys," said Sirius.

"Yes, I did as well, as there seemed to be no evidence to the contrary, unless you count that Quibbler article about you being raised by four giant turtles and a giant rat, who was mutated by some kind of substance to humanoid forms," said Remus. "I sometimes read that magazine when I'm bored but that was one of the more insane articles they have ever done."

"Actually, that is one hundred percent true," said Harry in a calm, cool voice as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"What?" asked Sirius in a tone of disbelief. "Four Giant...A giant...mutated...how did this...how could...how did you get to the Dursleys from..."

"Do explain this, Harry?" asked Remus in an even voice.

Harry explained the origin story of the Turtles and Master Splinter. Lupin just raised his eyebrows at several points in the story but Black looked in awe.

"And that's how they became who they were," said Harry.

"Very interesting Harry," said Lupin. "Strange how that ooze effected the growth but I suppose it could be possible. I wonder if it had magical origins."

"Harry, this is a bit, well you have lived an interesting life," said Black. "It will take me some adjusting to get used to you having a giant talking rat as your father figure recently due to obvious perils to the traitor on the floor."

"Speaking of the traitor, he's trying to making a break for it," said Ginny frantically, pointing at Scabbers, who had attempted to slip out the door. Harry expertly rolled into action stepped on the rat's tail, causing him to squeak in anguish.

"Going somewhere, Peter?" asked Sirius before picking up the rat, who was squealing like mad.

"So, Padfoot, should we allow him to show himself?" asked Remus.

"Yes, I believe so Moony, my old friend," said Sirius, who raised his wand along with Remus, waving it in the air, engulfing Scabbers in light. The rat was illuminated a bright blue color before springing up into a short, pudgy looking man, who looked rather terrified at the sight of the two angry men in front of him.

"S-Sirius, R-Remus, my old friends," said Peter, looking rather frantic.

"Hello, Peter, I see you have decided to join us tonight," said Remus. "We had a lovely little conversation, about the time leading to when you became the traitor. Anything you would like to input."

"Surely, you can't believe Sirius over me," said Peter. "I was your friend, he tried to kill me, he blasted an entire street full of Muggles in an attempt to get me. I am innocent, I swear you have to believe me."

"You blasted rat, it was you who blasted the entire street with that Shockwave curse!" said Sirius angrily. "If I did not have the presence of mind to Apparate out of the way for a few seconds, you would have gotten me as well. You and your screaming about Lily and James, like I was some common traitor."

"You were the traitor, Sirius," repeated Peter. "I mean, I could not work with You-Know-Who, the mere mention of him sends me into terror. You on the other hand would be perfect. Look at your family tree, Black for all the signs pointing at you going dark. Your cousin is Bellatrix Lestrange. Another cousin of yours is Narcissa Malfoy and we know she married Lucius, who just had to be square in the middle of the Dark Lord's inner circle."

"Peter, only Death Eaters or Ex-Death Eaters refer to Voldemort as the Dark Lord," said Sirius, wand pointed at Pettigrew's head. "I won't fall for the innocent cowardly act this time, Peter. Last time it got me sent to Azkaban for thirteen years."

"Remus, you can't believe this lunacy," begged Peter, attempting to turn get Lupin's sympathy. "Surely, Black would have informed you had they switched Secret Keepers."

"There had been reason to believe I was the spy, so I can see why he wouldn't although I don't personally agree with it," remarked Lupin evenly.

"Harry, you believe me don't you," said Peter, attempting to turn to James and Lily's only son for a desperate last ditch attempt. "I would never do anything to hurt James, you look so much like him. Lily either, you have her eyes, you did not know..."

Unexpectedly Harry wrapped his hand around Peter's throat and pinning him against the wall.

"How dare you?" hissed Harry. "How dare you, talk about them? I see what has happened, I would be a fool not to, Wormtail. Hiding as a rat for thirteen bloody years is not the actions of an innocent man. Give me one reason why I should not kill you."

"I heard the story of your family Harry when I was taking refuge underneath the bed, the closest thing you have as a father figure currently is a rat," said Peter desperately. "Surely you could find some sympathy due to us being alike..."

Due to Splinter's current state, Peter had said the wrong thing to Harry. His hand smacked Peter in the jaw so hard Harry was sure he dislocated Peter's jaw. The rat fell down, blood dripping from his jaw. Harry winced in pain, his hand probably broken due to him hitting Peter a little too hard.

"Traitorous cockroach!" yelled Harry, picking his double-edged sword off the ground, as Peter looked fearful. Remus and Sirius stood back; it appeared Harry was going to do what they planned to do.

"Harry, perhaps you should not do this," said Remus as Sirius nodded grimly, realizing how rash his own plan to kill Peter was.

"He deprived me of my parents, therefore if anyone's going to kill him, it's going to be me!," thundered Harry, raising his double edged sword in the air, right at Peter's throat preparing to deliver the killing blow.

"Harry, please don't do this!" pleaded Ginny. "You're better than him, you're..."

"He gives a bad name to all honorable rats by his mere existence," said Harry, beyond all reason as Peter attempted to move but Harry grabbed him, elbowing him in the head, causing the rat fall back, wincing in pain. "Therefore, I am doing the world a great service by exterminating this pest."

Harry raised his double-edged sword as Ginny looked at Hermione desperately but Hermione seemed to not have an answer.

Peter looked up at Harry as Harry twirled his double-edged sword over his head and prepared to bring it down into Wormtail's skull but it stopped an inch away from the rodent's head as Harry slowly pulled back.

"No, I was taught better than that, Pettigrew," said Harry. "As much as I want you dead, you are the key to clearing Sirius's name and undoing a great miscarriage of justice. So you will remain alive only enough for me to hand your worthless carcass over to the Dementors."

Peter looked at Harry gratefully, but Harry waved his wand, causing a pair of shackles to bind Peter to him magically.

"Peter, if you try and do anything stupid like transform or attempt to remove the shackles by yourself in anyway, you will be killed instantly," said Harry in a calm, emotionless tone of voice.

The rat nodded fearfully as Harry turned to Ginny, Sirius, Remus, and Hermione.

"We better get out of here," said Harry before turning to Lupin. "Professor, since tonight is a full moon and you have not taken your potion yet, it would be best if you would stay here so your transformation does not cause any trouble as we transport this trash from the Whomping Willow back to Hogwarts."

"Right Harry, I agree on this night, me following you back to the school would pose a problem," said Harry.

"What about Malfoy?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, what about him?" agreed Ginny. "As much as I want to see him undergo some horrific demise, we can't leave him here, it would raise too many awkward questions and cause way too many problems."

"You're right," said Harry, as he had nearly forgotten about his rival in the Slytherin house.

"We can take him like this," said Sirius, pointing his wand at Draco. "Mobilcorpus."

Malfoy floated up in the air, as if suspended by some invisible wires as Sirius started out of the tunnel. Hermione attempted to pull herself up but she collapsed, her leg still killing her. Ginny and Harry walked over to their friend, with Harry dragging the dead weight of Peter Pettigrew shackled to him. They helped Hermione up, supporting her before joining Sirius and the floating Malfoy out of the tunnel.

They reached the outside as Sirius summoned a stick towards him, pressing the knot on the trunk, deactivating the Whomping Willow. Harry dragged a squirming Pettigrew out of the tunnel, who seemed to want to give Harry as much as a fight as he was allowed without trying to break the shackles. Ginny and Harry then hoisted Hermione up out of the tunnel.

"Well, we need to just get Wormtail to Hogwarts and then I'll be a free man," said Sirius. "I don't know if you were told this, but your parents named me your godfather. I understand about you wanting to stay with your family but once my name is cleared, I will probably be moving out of Britain, due to escaping all the press. I believe I can afford some property in New York so I can live close to you."

"Really, that would be nice, Sirius," said Harry. " We'll talk about that later. So, let's get up to the school before something else goes wrong tonight."

"Too late for that ickle baby Potter," cooed a malicious voice.

Harry looked up and saw Bellatrix Lestrange standing in front of him, her wand pointed at them.

"Oh it's you, Bellatrix," said Sirius in a bored tone of voice. "I know your mind is unhinged but you are at a bit of a disadvantage right now. There are more of us than there are of you."

"I know that dear cousin, that's why I brought some friends to even the odds when I kill you all tonight," said Bellatrix, looking positively sadistic with her wand raised in the air. "Now, it is time to call my friends into action, as this is something I have worked hard on for several months. I want to see my handiwork tonight."

Bellatrix waved her wand and off in the distance a group about two dozen figures walked into the picture. All of them appeared to have black hair and green eyes, with lightning bolt scars burnt into their foreheads, but their skin appeared to be extremely pale and in some cases, not there at all as if someone had taken it.

"She didn't," said Sirius in a horrified voice, looking at Bellatrix's companions.

"What are those things?" asked Ginny anxiously.

"They are Inferi," said Sirius in a simple tone of voice. "Bellatrix seems to have raided a cemetery and animated a bunch of corpses to do her bidding."

"Wrong again, I have gone on a little killing spree, to have enough followers to destroy you slowly and painfully," said Bellatrix before motioning for the Inferi to surround Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Sirius, and Peter. Bellatrix's eyes brightened as she spotted Pettigrew. "Ah, Peter, so glad you have joined us as well. I have a bone to pick with you, due to you leading my beloved master to his demise that night."

The Inferi and Bellatrix began to circle their prey, stalking them as Harry, Ginny, Sirius, and Hermione pulled out their wands, ready for a fight.

"Now let's play," said Bellatrix wickedly as she waved her wand, sending the Inferi straight into the attack.


	23. Chapter 23: Race Against Time

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Race Against Time**

The Inferi gave a low growl as Harry looked around. This was not going to be pleasant at all.

"So Harry, any suggestions on how to deal with this?" asked Ginny.

"A few, but the one that seems to be running through my mind the most is destroying them by any means necessary," said Harry as Sirius nodded in agreement. "Dark Arts, Light Arts, Whatever, just make sure there's nothing left standing or we will be nothing but a bloody mass on the ground in a few moments."

One of the Inferi raised its arm into the air but Harry pulled Peter, who was still shackled to Harry's wrist, in the way to be used as a shield. The Inferi smashed into Peter's back and Harry kicked the Inferi back. Another Inferi grabbed Ginny around the arm and Harry turned around.

"Diffindo!" yelled Harry, pointing the cutting spell right at the Inferius's arm. The spell sliced the arm off right at the shoulder, causing the arm to hang by a sickening strand of rotting flesh.

"Mash them into little pieces my children!" yelled Bellatrix wickedly. "Anything you can use."

The Inferius that was cut by Harry pulled his arm off, throwing it on the ground. Harry was repulsed by the bones sticking out of the shoulder of his living dead opponent, who pulled one of the longer bones out of his arm before charging right at Harry, prepared to smash his head in but Sirius blasted the Inferius out of the way. Hermione, on one leg, was frantically blasting sparks at two Inferi who raised their pale fists ready to smash her in.

"Incendio!" yelled Harry sending a jet of fire at the two Inferi who was threatening his friend. This caused the undead to back off slightly.

"Harry that's it," said Sirius. "I just remembered, Inferi are afraid of fire. Incendio!"

Another group of three Inferi was backed off by the blasts of fire.

"Harry!" screamed Ginny as she was pinned to the ground by three Inferi. Harry leaped up, pulling his double-edged sword out, slicing one of the Inferi in half before causing the other two to back off by a wordless blast of fire.

Peter squirmed as he found the top half of the Inferius Harry sliced in half, grabbing onto his legs for dear life. Harry paid Pettigrew no mind but he looked up at the willow, which was calm for right now, an idea forming in his head.

"Everyone, lure them towards the Willow," said Harry before pointing his wand. "Incendio!"

The jets of fire caused the Inferi to back off towards the Whomping Willow. More jets and the tree branches reared up, before flying down on the Inferi. Bellatrix looked horrified as all of her hard work was being demolished by that tree. She only enchanted them to attack, not to defend themselves against a homicidal tree. The Inferi were being ripped into pieces by the tree and months worth of work were down the train. After a few minutes, all of the Inferi were destroyed thanks to the Whomping Willow.

"That was brilliant Harry," said Hermione in a low weak tone of voice, her leg still killing her.

"Yeah it was," agreed Ginny before ducking down underneath a jet of black light that Bellatrix had blasted towards her. She was not too happy.

"That's it, I'll kill all of you right now!" shrieked Bellatrix. "Putesco Viscus!"

The flesh-rotting curse hit Peter in the hand. He screamed in pain but unfortunately for Harry, the shackle was fused to his flesh, so as the flesh rotted, Harry's hold on Peter disappeared. Seizing his chance, Pettigrew transformed into the rat, no longer bound by the curse that if he did so, he would be killed.

The rat got away but Harry had bigger problems as in a sadistic servant of the Dark Lord after his head.

"Crucio!" yelled Bellatrix, striking Ginny, causing her to scream out in pain but Harry leaped up, kicking Bellatrix and knocking her backwards. "You dare touch me you half blooded slime!"

"Stupefy!" yelled Sirius but Bellatrix deflected the curse.

"Come on, you can do better than that," yelled Bellatrix.

"Expello!" yelled Harry but Bellatrix levitated a rock in front of her, causing the curse to connect with it instead of her. Harry would not be denied. "Spiculum!"

A dozen arrows shot at Bellatrix, aimed directly for her stomach. Bellatrix managed to avoid most of them, with the exception of one that pierced into her leg. She looked enraged at the sight of her own blood.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" screamed Bellatrix, pointing at Harry, but Harry reached into his sleeve, throwing a dagger into the light, causing the Killing Curse to make the dagger explode into particles of dust.

"Punctum!" yelled Sirius, sending a half a dozen sharp needles at Bellatrix who had to mutter a shield charm to avoid them.

"Wow, Sirius, a Dark Arts spell, I am surprised at you, but I'm afraid it you'll have to do more than that to defeat me," said Bellatrix in a mocking voice. "Come on, that barely hurt."

"Expello!" yelled Harry, striking Bellatrix in the chest and causing her to fly back, crashing onto the ground. "You're finished Lestrange."

Bellatrix looked up, seeing Hermione a few feet away, a sadistic grin forming on her face.

"Oh so it seems, Potter," said Bellatrix before pointing her wand to Hermione. "Imperio!"

Hermione's eyes went blank as Bellatrix put her underneath the Imperius Curse. Harry recognized the signs well, due to a book in the Slytherin Library on the most dangerous and deadly forms of Dark Magic.

"Now, you are under my control girl," said Bellatrix in a commanding voice. "Attack them."

Hermione raised her wand in the air, attempting to fight the curse but Bellatrix's power was just too great.

"You don't want to do this Hermione, you don't have to listen to her," said Harry.

"Stupefy," said Hermione in an emotionless voice, blasting the red light towards Harry and Ginny, who scattered.

"Put some more feeling into it girl," commanded Bellatrix. "Come on, raise your wand and say the word Crucio. Remember, you want to make them suffer, enjoy causing the pain."

"Cru..." started Hermione in an emotionless tone but Harry silenced her with a wordless silencing charm.

Bellatrix looked at Harry as he raised his wand at Potter. Bellatrix of course stood behind Hermione, using her as a shield. Before Harry could move any further, the air around them got suddenly colder.

"Oh no, not now," said Ginny in an irritated tone of voice.

"The Dementors are coming, the Dementors are coming!" cried Bellatrix in glee. "You're in big trouble now, Sirius."

"You crazed mad bitch," said Sirius. "They are coming to get you too."

"Not if I can get away before they arrive," said Bellatrix before turning to Hermione. "Oh and before I forget, here is a little parting gift."

Bellatrix pointed her wand towards Hermione.

"Sectumsempra!" yelled Bellatrix, causing a series of cuts to form on Hermione, all squirting with blood, flowing down her face and from underneath her robes.

"Hermione!" yelled Harry and Ginny in unison, as their friend fell to the ground, bleeding severely from the vicious curse.

"Got to go," said Bellatrix. "Oh and Sirius, go snog a Dementor for me."

Bellatrix ran off, cackling madly. She managed to get away rather quickly.

"What in the hell did she hit Hermione with?" asked Ginny frantically.

"That curse was invented by Snape," said Sirius turning to Harry. "He used it on James at Hogwarts during our fourth year, nearly killing him as well and he should have gotten expelled for it, but Dumbledore somehow allowed him to stay. I have no idea why, as Snape always had his greasy nose deep into the most vile and evil curses, and made our lives a living..."

Sirius stopped painting Snape as the personification of evil as the Dementors arrived on the scene, sucking all the happiness out of the air around them. Harry looked up, there appeared to be a hundred of them and he could barely shut out of the effects to turn to Ginny.

"Ginny, think of something happy and yell, Expecto Patronum," said Harry weakly. "Expecto Patronum!"

"Expecto Patronum!" yelled Ginny but nothing but a few sparks came out of her wand, as she had been severely weakened by the Dementors coming at her, bringing the shadowed reflections.

Draco slowly pulled himself up, groggy from what Potter did to him but he found himself surrounded by Dementors. He screamed like a little girl, the memories of all the times Potter upstaged him coming back to him before he curled up in a fetal ball, whimpering.

"Expecto Patronum!" yelled Ginny but she slowly sank to her knees before passing out about twenty seconds due to the effects of the Dementors being too much. Sirius went down shortly there after.

"Expecto Patronum!" screamed Harry but there only seemed to be a vague mist coming from his wand. He used too much energy up in the fight with Lestrange. "Expecto Patronum, Expecto Patronum!"

Harry looked around, as he saw Ginny and Sirius down. It was Harry, against all of them. All one hundred of the Dementors closed in on Harry.

One of the Dementors grabbed Harry around the shoulders. This was the chance they had been waiting for all year. Vengeance on the one connected to the wizard that managed to put them in this weak form and trapped their master's essence in that temple many centuries ago. The Dementor lowered its hood, pulling Harry closer, sucking all the air out from around Harry.

Harry looked up at the gaping hole for a mouth, along with the face. The Dementor was pulling him in closer; he heard the screams of a woman, no doubt his mother. The Dementor was going to finish off Harry; this was going to be the end of him for sure this time. The Dementor began to put his mouth to Harry's. The last thing Harry saw was the flicker of a silver light in the distance behind the Dementor that was about to suck his soul out before his mind went blank and he could sense no more.

"Thank Merlin you found them in time, Severus," said the voice of Cornelius Fudge as Harry weakly opened his eyes. "You really don't look good."

"Yes, this blasted flu is really irritable," said Snape in a weak voice. "I was going down to the Greenhouse for some plants to make a potion to relieve my condition slightly. Still, the Dementors managed to be sent off by something, I can't say what."

"Yes, attempting to kiss a thirteen year old boy, inexcusable," said Fudge. "I shudder to think how this may effect the opinion of the general public on me if this leaks to the Daily Prophet."

Snape resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the nerve of this man. A student, one of his Slytherins, nearly got his soul sucked out and all this man could think about was his bloody approval rating.

"Still, where did you say you stashed Black so I can have MacNair get the Dementors?" asked Fudge.

"Flitwick's office," said Snape, remembering Dumbledore's orders about how he should take the fall for Dumbledore's handiwork, who had put Black in that office, putting powerful locking charms from the inside and tying Black up so he could not escape. "Eighth Floor, East Side of the Building."

"Thank you, Professor Snape, you will be rewarded for your bravery," said Fudge.

"Hold it Minister, Sirius Black is innocent, Peter Pettigrew committed those murders, you've got the wrong man," said Harry, bolting up out of his bed.

"Potter, you're awake," said Snape. "I must say, Black confunding you was a low move from him, but the spells will wear off in time. As for Miss Granger's condition, I was able to heal her before too much lasting damage from that spell she was hit with. Naturally, due to my research over the years, I have intimate knowledge of the Dark Arts."

Ginny opened her eyes weakly, looking at Snape with an accusing look.

"Of course you would, you bloody Death Eater," said Ginny angrily. "You invented the spell, so you would know how to undo its handiwork."

"It seems to me Black did a good job confunding you as well, Miss Weasley," remarked Snape. "He was always capable of murder, he attempted to murder me when he was at Hogwarts but Dumbledore hushed it up. The details are none of your concern but due to your current mental state, I will not hold you by anything you say as the truth."

"Yes and why should I believe you?" asked Harry in a cold voice that made Snape just a little bit uneasy. "You knew it was Peter Pettigrew who did this the whole time, didn't you? I don't know what happened with you and Sirius during Hogwarts, nor do I care, but all I know is condemning an innocent man to a terrible fate just because some schoolyard grudge is extremely childish Professor. I thought better of you and I am extremely disappointed right now."

"You don't understand Mr. Potter," said Snape with an unreadable expression on his face but Severus was mentally cursing Dumbledore for putting him in this tight position.

"Now, Mr. Potter, many witnesses saw Black kill Pettigrew, Dumbledore himself gave evidence that Black was your parent's secret keeper," said Fudge. "Now I understand your brain has been addled tonight by advanced dark magic..."

Harry reached forward, grabbing Fudge by the robes before pulling The Ministry of Magic forward.

"This is a warning right now Minister," whispered Harry in a low dangerous voice that only him and the Minister could hear. "Last time we met, you set me to Azkaban for some flimsy excuse. Unless you want word of that to accidentally leak to the Daily Prophet, thus ruining your reputation for good, I suggest you leave right now and don't do anything to get in the way for the rest of this evening."

Fudge backed off, it seemed obvious to him that attempting to reason with the Potter boy was useless due to his current mental state and what Fudge did to Potter recently. The Minister wondered if sending the boy to Azkaban for a short spell had caused Fudge to make an extremely dangerous and powerful enemy. He decided to cut his losses and leave the Hospital Wing.

"Okay, I'll just go and meet MacNair, right now," said Fudge feebly.

Fudge left, with Snape following a moment later. Madam Pomfrey came out of her office carrying a plate of chocolate, looking at Ginny and Harry.

"Ah, good, you two are awake," said Pomfrey, handing chocolate to Harry and Ginny. "Eat all of this, every bit of this. I will be back in a few minutes to make my rounds and I want all of that chocolate eaten.

Harry and Ginny took the chocolate as Pomfrey exited to her office. Harry quickly ate it, looking desperate. This is the one time he felt helpless, with nothing he could do to save his godfather.

"Harry, I wish we could do something to save Sirius," said Ginny, seeing the irritated look on her friend's face. "Unfortunately we don't have enough time to do so."

Ginny talking about time had given Harry an idea.

"Ginny, that's it, time," said Harry, with a triumphant look on his face, looking over to Hermione.

"What?" asked Ginny looking to confused.

"I hope Hermione has it with her, but it should be around Hermione's neck Ginny," said Harry.

Ginny reached over to Hermione, before seeing an hourglass on a chain wrapped around her neck.

"This it, Harry?" asked Ginny.

"Yes," said Harry. "Come, Ginny, we don't have much time."

Ginny handed Harry the hourglass. Harry put it around the necks of both himself and Ginny.

"I hope my thousand year old knowledge from the Slytherin library on how to work these things is accurate," said Harry desperately.

"And if it isn't?" asked Ginny.

"You really don't want to know," replied Harry as he flipped the hourglass over three times.

Harry felt himself being pulled back through a swirling vortex before landing along with Ginny just a little outside the Great Hall. Harry took the time turner off, before placing it underneath his robes.

"What was that thing?" asked Ginny. "And where are we?"

"It's a Time Turner, that's how Hermione has been attending two classes at once," said Harry.

"She actually told you that," said Ginny.

"Not exactly, I pretty much figured it out after a while despite her best efforts to conceal the truth from me," said Harry. "Anyway, we're three hours in the past, but I had a bit of an ulterior motive from transporting us back this far."

"Buckbeak," said Ginny in understanding.

"Yes, two wrongs will be righted this night," said Harry before tensing up. "We are heading out, so conceal yourself Ginny before we follow ourselves to Hagrid's hut."

Ginny and Harry managed to hide in a corridor, discreetly leaping away from the line of the sight of their past counterparts.

"Okay, now we follow them," said Harry.

Harry and Ginny quietly followed their invisible counterparts, somehow managing to not be seen due to sticking to the shadows as the sun was slowly going down and the darkness was beginning to take hold. They arrived outside Hagrid's hut, seeing Buckbeak tied outside.

"Now we wait and watch," said Harry.

About twenty minutes later, Lucius Malfoy, Fudge, Dumbledore, MacNair, and the unnamed representative began to go up to the Hut. The minute they saw Buckbeak was securely tied up outside, Ginny turned to Harry as they went in.

"Now?" asked Ginny.

"Now," clarified Harry, nodding his head before walking up to Buckbeak, bowing at the hippogriff. The Hippogriff bowed back as Harry pulled out his double-edged sword, before slicing the rope that the Hippogriff was tied to.

"MacNair, Hagrid, sign here," ordered the aged representative of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures from inside Hagrid's hut.

"Harry, we don't have much time left," said Ginny anxiously, hearing people beginning to rise to their feet inside Hagrid's Hut.

Harry tried to pull Buckbeak away but the Hippogriff seemed to not want to go.

"Buckbeak, unless you want your head chopped off, I suggest you move," said Harry in a patient tone, yanking at the rope. The hippogriff followed Harry and Ginny into the Forbidden Forest. Using stealth was hard when they were dragging a Hippogriff around the woods.

"What's this!" thundered MacNair. "The damn beast pulled himself loose."

"Beaky, ya clever boy," said Hagrid, tears flowing down his eyes, looking proud at his pet.

"Someone stole that infernal beast, I want to see its head chopped off for what it did to my son," said Malfoy, as MacNair slammed the axe onto the ground in frustration.

"You can't very well do anything right now, Lucius," said Dumbledore. "Whomever stole the hippogriff was likely to lead them away in the air. If you want to search the skies, then by all means do so. I have more pressing matters to attend to."

"So many people to manipulate, so little time," whispered Harry as he looked at Dumbledore as Ginny tried hard not to giggle at her friend's antics. "Come, we need to keep on the move, as their will be Inferi coming in a little over an hour."

Ginny nodded as she followed Harry through the Forest, with Harry hanging onto Buckbeak. The two looked up, seeing Malfoy go for the tree.

"Can I please knock him out?" asked Ginny, pleading with Harry.

"No, Ginny, we can't do anything that will ruin the flow of time and space," said Harry. "We were able to save Buckbeak without ruining anything but any big changes could cause a paradox that might allow Sirius to escape and thus we have no reason to be sent back in time. However, since we did not go back in time..."

Harry stopped; he had apparently confused himself, attempting to explain the process of time travel to Ginny.

"Let's just say don't do it and time travel makes my head hurt," said Harry as Ginny nodded reluctantly beside him.

After about a half an hour, Harry could see Bellatrix creeping around in the distance.

"Okay this is it, Ginny," said Harry. "We need to get as far as way from here as possible, without incurring Bellatrix's attention."

"Right," said Ginny, assisting Harry in moving Buckbeak towards Hagrid's hut, which appeared to be empty due to Hagrid no doubt leaving the school grounds to get a drink in celebration of his pet's capture.

The two entered the Hut and Buckbeak laid himself down on Hagrid's bed, pleased to be back in familiar territories. Harry looked up at the window, seeing the fight go on outside, marveling at his brilliance of using the Whomping Willow to destroy the Inferi and then the battle with Bellatrix. He cringed when he saw Bellatrix do that sadistic curse to Hermione.

"Here come the Dementors," muttered Harry, before a sudden impulse struck him. "I need to go out there to assist myself."

"Harry, why are you..." began Ginny but Harry raised his hand in the air.

"I'll explain later," said Harry in a calm tone of voice before heading out of the Hut before Ginny could say anything else.

Harry raised his wand; he sensed he did not need to act yet. The Dementor grabbed him and prepared to unleash his kiss. He raised his wand in the air as the Dementor pulled Harry's past self's face towards its gaping mouth.

"Expecto Patronum!" yelled Harry, sending a jet of silver towards the Dementors. Harry watched the progress as his past self fell to the ground. The Dementors glided away, as the glowing silver Patronus went after them. Before Harry could get a good look at what his Patronus was, he heard the sound of footsteps so he had to leave the scene.

"Harry, how did you do that?" asked Ginny. "I thought you said you were having trouble with the Patronus because of the blocks Dumbledore put on your magic."

Harry thought about it for a minute before coming up with what he thought to be a logical explanation.

"The blocks were not powerful enough to handle two of me in the same time stream," suggested Harry. "It has to do with me traveling to a different time stream. Since that Harry was already there, the blocks only applied to him and since I am not native to this time stream, the blocks were not applied to me, so I was able to channel enough raw magical energy to form a Patronus. Does that make any sense, Ginny?"

"No," said Ginny slowly, frowning as she attempted to make sense of what Harry just said. "But I'll just nod my head and pretend it did, so we can stick to what we are doing."

"That's just my theory anyway, I could be wrong," said Harry shrugging his shoulders in attempt to grasp for straws at why he was able to form that Patronus. "But the block will probably be in play once I return to my native time in about an hour."

Harry looked outside, seeing Snape helping Ginny, Hermione, and himself on stretchers. Sirius was already gone, no doubt taken up to be stored in Flitwick's office from when the Dementors came to finish him off. Snape did a series of complicated motions, managing to close the wounds on Hermione's face and underneath her robes that Bellatrix caused by that spell and barely leaving any scarring Hermione's face. A moment later, Snape levitated the three stretchers towards the castle and vanished.

"This is it, Ginny," said Harry in a take-charge voice. "We need to fly Buckbeak up to the window to Flitwick's office."

Ginny nodded as Harry pulled the hippogriff by the rope, which reluctantly followed the Boy-Who-Lived outside of the Hut. Harry looked up, climbing on the Hippogriff, hanging onto the Hippogriff's neck as Ginny climbed on behind Harry, wrapping her arms around his waist, hanging on to Harry.

"Hang on Ginny," muttered Harry. "Buckbeak, let's go, we need to get this done."

The Hippogriff rose up into the air, with Harry and Ginny on his back, as Harry directed it towards Professor Flitwick's office. They reached the office window as Harry pulled his wand out.

"Alohomora!" yelled Harry, causing the window to spring open and seeing Sirius tied to a chair in Flitwick's office.

Harry leaped off the Hippogriff, before grabbing Ginny's hand and helping her through the window. Pulling out his double-edged sword, Harry sliced the ropes binding Sirius to the chair.

"Thank you, Harry," said Sirius gratefully.

"There, Sirius, there's your ride," said Harry, pointing to Buckbeak who hovered outside the window. "You need to get out of here right now."

"Harry, thank you, I will be in..." started Sirius.

"Go!" yelled Harry. "The Dementors will be there any minute, you need to get off the grounds right now."

Sirius climbed on the Hippogriff.

"Good bye Harry," said Sirius. "My travel plans to New York are unfortunately delayed due to me being on the run."

Sirius flew off into the distance and not a moment too soon, as the Dementors appeared to be outside the door. Harry did not want to chance another encounter, so he pulled his Portus-Amulet out of his pocket, before grabbing Ginny's hand and tapping his wand to it, pulling them from Flitwick's office, to the corridor outside of the Hospital Wing.

"We made it," said Harry, sighing in relief.

"That was too close," said Ginny. "About how much time do we have left until our past selves leave?"

"Five minutes," said Harry, consulting his watch. "We need to be ready to duck in there immediately at five till eleven."

Ginny nodded, as all they could do is wait. Five minutes later, Harry and Ginny quickly snuck into the Hospital Wing, lying down in their beds, as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. It felt like they had never even gone but Harry pulled out the time turner and Hermione slowly woke up, looking rather weak and groggy.

"Harry, Ginny, what happened?" whispered Hermione weakly. "What happened with Sirius? What about Lestrange? What's going on here?"

Pomfrey's office door opened, carrying a blood red looking potion.

"Miss Granger, glad you are finally away," said Pomfrey. "I must say, whatever Lestrange hit you with caused you to lose a lot of blood. You would have died had it not been for the timely actions of Professor Snape. Here, take this blood replenishing potion, it will help with the healing process."

Hermione took the blood-replenishing potion, swallowing it quickly while making a disgusted face.

"Now rest," said Pomfrey, before turning to Harry and Ginny. "The same goes for you two as well. I may let you out in a few days, if you follow my instructions to the letter by resting."

Pomfrey left to check on her other patients as Harry pulled the hourglass out from underneath the covers.

"Here's your time turner back Hermione," said Harry handing it to his confused friend.

"I don't even want know what you were just doing before I woke up," said Hermione, taking the time turner before putting it back underneath her robes.

"It's best you don't know Hermione," said Ginny with a smirk on her face.

"Yeah, it's a long story, we simply don't have enough time right now to tell you everything" said Harry before lying back and drifting off to sleep. It had been a long day.


	24. Chapter 24: To the End

**Chapter Twenty-Four: To the End**

Harry, Ginny, and Hermione were let out of the Hospital Wing a few days after the incident. From what they heard from Daphne and Theodore during their few visits, the Dementors were removed from Hogwarts and Malfoy seemed gleeful for some reason, but for once he was not bragging about the origins of his happiness. It was the day before the end of term. Harry contacted his brothers but there still had been no luck in locating Master Splinter. When he returned to New York tomorrow, perhaps he could speed up the process. It had been a month and a half since Splinter had gone missing and all possible leads had turned out to be a dead end.

Hermione, Daphne, Theodore, Ginny, and Harry were sitting outside of the school, on that day, talking over by the lake.

"So, Hermione, did you actually turn in the time turner?" asked Harry.

"Yes, for the tenth time, Harry," said Hermione irritably. "I made a bad judgment call in using that thing this year, as it really caused a lapse in my concentration."

"I'm just happy this year is over, as it had been a strange one," remarked Daphne. "Maybe next year will be normal without crazed murderers escaping Azkaban."

"As long as I live, I doubt there will be a normal year at Hogwarts," said Harry. "Still, Sirius may be innocent but Pettigrew escaped. I feel somehow this is my fault."

"You know it isn't Harry," said Ginny in a reassuring voice.

"I should have killed him when I had the chance," said Harry. "I don't know what made me not do it. I had the sword at his head, I could have split his head in half right there and then."

"Live and learn, Harry," said Theodore. "He's probably hiding somewhere anyway, I doubt he is much of a threat. You said he ran the minute he was freed from you."

"Yes, but still I won't underestimate anyone in the league with that vile man. The fact remains he killed twelve people with a single curse, a curse that is one of the most dangerous forms of dark magic at that, so he definitely portrays himself to be less dangerous than he really is. I'm worried about if he'll join up with Voldemort, again," said Harry, rolling his eyes at the shudders from Theodore, Daphne, Ginny, and Hermione. "I sense Voldemort getting stronger. The last night, my scar stung briefly, that hasn't happened since the first year."

"Harry, you are just going to have to wait and see what happens," said Hermione. "Predicting the future is a very sketchy proposition at best."

"Yes, all you're going to get is a major headache," supplied Daphne.

Harry looked up thoughtfully. Sirius may have gotten away but unfortunately the real danger was still loose. Bellatrix Lestrange had escaped the grounds on that night, her fate unknown. Harry was confident that the woman was terrorizing innocent people and slaughtering more unfortunate victims all in the name of her sadistic urges.

Unfortunately, Harry was brought out of his thoughts by an unexpected and unfortunate arrival.

"Potter, hey Potter, did you hear the good news?" asked Draco Malfoy, who had walked up to Harry and his friends along with Crabbe and Goyle.

Some people never learned their lesson. Malfoy was one of them. Despite countless beatings, Malfoy kept coming back to harass Harry and his friends. It seemed to be about as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning and setting in the evening.

"You're moving to Siberia," said Daphne hopefully.

"Very funny, Greengrass," said Malfoy sarcastically. "No, Potter, I thought I would like to inform you that the Anti-Werewolf Legislation Act has finally been passed late last night. Of course, I did my civic duty by informing my father of Professor Lupin's little condition, who passed the information onto Cornelius Fudge. The werewolf has been ordered to leave and is currently packing his things right now."

"What!" yelled Harry.

"Malfoy, you have sunk to a new low this time," said Hermione. "Condemning someone to a harsher life for what reason exactly."

"Oh no reason exactly, other than the fact I finally got the better of Harry Potter. It almost makes up for that infernal beast of Hagrid's somehow escaping," said Malfoy triumphantly. "After all, the Werewolf was a friend of your dear dead Daddy at Hogwarts. After all, anything half human like that should not be allowed to live. I always get my way Potter, for I am Draco Malfoy and I'm..."

"A dead man!" screamed Harry, rushing right towards Malfoy and attempting to snap his neck, by pulling it back viciously, but somehow Malfoy's squirming to avoid permanent injury saved him. Crabbe and Goyle made a move towards Harry but Hermione, Daphne, and Theodore raised their wands, causing the two goons to back off. The words about nothing half human should be allowed to live had caused Harry to snap for obvious reasons.

"Potter, let go of me, now!" demanded Malfoy, gasping for air. "Get your vile filthy, half blood hands off of me."

Ginny calmly walked over to Harry, grabbing his arm and gently pulling Harry away before bumping into Malfoy and causing to loose his balance before falling into the lake.

"Oops, so sorry Malfoy," said Ginny, but the mischievous look in her eye gave away the fact that she was not all that sorry about Malfoy's fate of going in the lake.

Crabbe and Goyle walked over, looking dumbly at their friend.

"Just don't stand there you cretins, help me out!" screamed Draco, frantically. Crabbe and Goyle walked over, hoisting Draco up out of the lake as Harry and his friends walked away from the scene of Malfoy's misfortune.

"I'm going to go see Professor Lupin," said Harry.

"The act's passed, there isn't anything you can do about it, Harry," said Daphne.

"Still," said Harry, quickening has paces and hoping he had not missed his former Defense Against the Dark Art's Teacher leaving. The man did teach him the Patronus Charm that saved his life when the Dementors attacked his past self on that night.

Harry arrived at Lupin's office, as Lupin seemed to just finish packing up.

"Ah, I saw you coming," said Lupin, pointing to the Marauder's Map.

"Malfoy told me you were leaving due to the Ministry forcing you because of the Anti-Werewolf legislation," said Harry.

"I'm afraid this is true," said Lupin sadly. "Still, I would have been found out sooner than later so it was perhaps for the best. I will find a job and I will manage. I have before even through I will be having to pay eighty percent of my wages as a Werewolf tax for the Ministry of Magic."

"It wasn't your fault that you got bit, it was the werewolf that did it through," said Harry logically.

"Harry, explaining that to the people high up in the Ministry of Magic is like running headfirst into a solid brick wall repeatedly," said Lupin. "It has been a pleasure teaching you all but just like thirteen years ago, my life has mandated I have depart. I'll pick up where I left off before Dumbledore gave me this job, traveling the world, getting a job wherever I can."

"You could come to New York if you want to, Professor Lupin," said Harry. "I don't know about the Wizarding Government in the States much but I doubt they could possibly be any worse than Fudge's corrupt regime."

"Actually, I did live in New York City for a short time along with a few other select cities in the United States and Canada but I found it not to suit me well, even if the American Wizarding Government is more tolerant of my kind along with other part human creatures," said Lupin. "I just have to go with what life brings me. Perhaps our paths will cross again Harry but I must leave."

Harry just stood there, unable to speak, not knowing what he could say to Lupin.

"And before I go, I brought this back from the Shrieking Shack after that night," said Lupin, handing Harry his invisibility cloak before holding out the Marauder's Map and handing it to Harry. "And this. Now I am no longer your teacher, I have no guilt whatsoever of giving it to you. I daresay you and your friends will find uses for it that will be great pride to the legacy of the Marauders."

Harry stashed the map and the Cloak in his robe.

"Good bye Professor and good luck," said Harry finally finding his voice, nodding as Lupin began to leave, carrying his suitcase. However, at that moment, Professor Dumbledore arrived in Lupin's office at that very moment.

Harry and Dumbledore exchanged an intense stare down, but Harry did not back down, despite the fact that he could feel Dumbledore's power being drawn up. The tension of the air could be cut with a knife due to the silence caused by the tension that existed during the confrontation between Dumbledore and Harry.

"Headmaster," said Harry coolly, breaking the silence.

"Mr. Potter," responded Dumbledore with a brief nod of his head before turning to Lupin. "Your carriage is at the gates, Remus."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore, I'll be sure to find my way out," said Lupin before turning and walking off as if there was nothing wrong at all.

Harry stepped back, as if offering Dumbledore to go from the office first. There would be no way that Harry would allow the old man to stand behind him for any reason. As Dumbledore left Lupin's old office, Harry had his hand on his wand, ready to strike Dumbledore at a second's notice just in case the old man tried anything underhanded. Fortunately it did not come to that as Dumbledore left without incident. Contrary to popular belief, Harry did not go looking for trouble but unfortunately, it seemed to find him at the worst possible times.

Daphne, Theodore, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry were boarding the Hogwarts Express for the end of the year to go to King's Cross Station. Slytherin had won the House Championship again, due to their impressive victory in the Quidditch Cup Final.

"So Harry, I'll need to ask Mum, but I'm pretty sure I can come to New York and visit you over the summer so I can work on a few things that you were teaching me in our training before we left Hogwarts," said Ginny. "After that, the Quidditch World Cup is happening and Dad can get the tickets at the Ministry, so I asked him to get you and Hermione tickets for the cup."

"Yes, that would be interesting," said Harry. "Let me know what your mother says about visiting but I have a feeling she may not be all that comfortable with sending her daughter to a foreign country, even if it is to visit a friend."

"I'll convince her," said Ginny simply. "She'll give in, eventually, it may take constant begging but I am sure I can persuade her."

"So, we'll use the mirrors to keep in contact," said Hermione.

"Right," said Daphne. "Although I may be on holiday for most of the month although my family already have tickets reserve for the Quidditch World Cup."

"So, we can meet up there when it happens," said Theodore nodding.

The five friends spent time talking for the rest of the trip until they arrived at King's Cross Station.

"I'll be in touch with you in a few days Harry, to see what Mum says about me coming to visit," said Ginny as Harry nodded, pulling his Portus-Amulet out and pulling himself towards New York.

Harry arrived at the warehouse right over the lair. He entered the elevator leading down, pressing a few buttons before going down towards the lair. He opened the elevator door, and his brothers were pacing around, looking extremely tense.

"Any leads?" asked Harry, getting down to business.

"No, nothing," said Leo, looking rather irritated.

"This is nuts, we searched and searched," said Raph.

"Yeah, it's not like a five foot tall rat is the most common thing in the world," said Mikey.

"We need to keep searching, we have expended too much time to quit now," said Don.

"Six and a half weeks by my watch," said Leo. "Still, Don's right, we need to keep looking, even if it is to bring closure."

"No Splinter's alive, he just has to be," said Raph in a desperate voice, as if trying to convince himself as much as the others.

"I'll unpack my stuff and then I will help you search," said Harry. "Think of all the places you have looked and attempt to figure out somewhere a giant rat would have been taken."

"Harry's right, we need to think logically and not lose our head's over this," said Don as Harry left to unpack his school belongings into his room.

"We've searched every sewer drain, every garbage dump, and every rundown warehouse in the city," announced Raph. "Still, we hit nothing. I just hope some whacked out government official did not take our father and do unspeakable things to him."

An uncomfortable silence was in the air, they did not want to even think about that as a possibility but they did not count it out.

A few days later, after many attempts to search but they had all been in vain. It seemed like they were stumbling around blindly, without much to figure out. About five days after Harry's third year ended, Harry received an early morning call on his mirror.

"Hello," said Harry sleepily as it took a few seconds to see that it was Ginny calling him on the other end of the mirror. "Ginny, what's the story, did your mother say it was okay to come?"

"Yes, I had to ask her several times a day before she decided she would let me come, but I'm supposed to come back with you a couple of days before the Quidditch World Cup," said Ginny. "Also, she had one stipulation, which I'll tell you when you get there."

"Okay, Ginny, stand by, I'll be there in a few minutes," said Harry.

A few minutes later, Harry used the Portus-Amulet to pull himself into the hallway outside of Ginny's room. No one else seemed to be awake, he knocked on the door and Ginny opened it wearing Muggle clothing, while holding a ragged looking duffle bag overflowing with clothing.

"So, what was the reason your mother finally caved in and let you come to New York," said Harry.

"Well, she said if I came, I also had to bring one of my older brothers with me to keep an eye on me," said Ginny. "All six of them are here this summer for the Quidditch World Cup."

"I see," said Harry.

"However, She didn't say which of my older brothers I had to bring with me, so I decided to bring..." said Ginny before motioning to a shadowed area in her room where the Twins stepped up, with mischievous grins, also wearing Muggle clothing and carrying bags, which appeared to have several mysterious looking items that Harry did not even want to know what they were.

"Harry, my dear boy, smashing to see you this morning," said George.

"I must say, a trip to New York," said Fred. "Should be an interesting cultural experience to say the least."

"Yes, an exotic land," said George.

"A fresh breeding ground for all kinds of mischief," said Fred happily.

"Yes, you'll have enough time to be yourselves later," said Ginny finishing a note written to her mother. "Right now, we need to leave."

"Uh, Ginny, did you by any chance explain my families, unique circumstances to Fred and George," said Harry to his friend in a low voice.

"I just told them they were different and not to freak out when they meet your family, but that's all I said," said Ginny. "It should be interesting to see how they react."

"Okay, if you say so," said Harry as he pulled out his Portus-Amulet, wondering if New York would ever be the same once Fred and George Weasley came for a visit. "And away we go."

Harry, Ginny, and Twins were pulled to New York on the Portus-Amulet. They landed in Harry's room with a thud. Fred and George Weasley looked at the poster board with the pictures of Harry along with his family.

"Wicked gag item Harry," said George.

"Yeah, magicking yourself in those Muggle photos with giant turtles and a giant rat," said Fred.

"Yet, it seems so life like," said George, as Harry and Ginny exchanged looks, attempting to keep from bursting out laughing.

Harry opened the door of his room, as the Twins and Ginny followed him out of the room. The Turtles were just getting up and Fred and George spotted them. There mouths hanged open, in awe, remembering the picture back in Harry's room.

"So, this is your family, Harry," said Fred, finding his voice first.

"Yep," said Harry.

"Wicked!" exclaimed the Twins in unison.

Harry called his family over. They walked over looking rather curious at the newcomers.

"Fred and George, this is Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo," said Harry, pointing out each turtle as he said his name. "Guys, these are Fred and George Weasley."

"Surely not the infamous Weasley twins," said Mikey remembering the stories Harry told his family about the prankster twins in the past.

"Yes, I believe that assumption would be correct," said George before turning to his twin. "My dear brother, our reputation seems to proceed us."

"Yes, even mysterious reptilian creatures know of our exploits," said Fred, acting as if he was wiping a tear from his face.

"So, how did you turtles become...uh..." said George, struggling to find the right words.

"Origin story time," said Harry, before launching into the origin story of the Turtles and Master Splinter. Harry wondered if he should tape record himself giving the story so all he had to do when the next person act was walk over to the recorder and push play.

Fred and George looked in awe as Harry finished the story.

"Interesting but there is just one thing that is confusing," said George. "Where is that Master Splinter guy who was a big part of the origin story?"

"He's gone missing, a long story right there," said Harry looking rather somber as the mood in the room just died.

"So, if he's missing, we can help you find him," said Ginny.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard," said George.

"After all, there isn't that many giant talking rats in the city this size," said Fred.

"Six and a half bloody weeks," commented Harry. "That's how long he has been missing. I'm sorry if I sound a little tense but we need to find him. I am not forcing you three to help..."

"No, Harry, it's different, we want to help," said Ginny, as the Twins nodded at her side.

"So, that settles it," said Raph in a determined voice. "We find Splinter by the end this day, no matter what."

With that the Turtles, Harry, Ginny, Fred, and George went out, preparing to search the city for Master Splinter. Harry was especially determined to accomplish this task; tonight they were not going to come home empty handed, no matter what the cost.


	25. Chapter 25: Search for Splinter Part I

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Search for Splinter Part One**

Late in the afternoon, after coordinating the battle plan, Harry, Ginny, and The Twins arrived in the warehouse, where the newly reconstructed Battle Shell was located.

"Okay Leo is searching from the air, Don is searching warehouses, Raph's got duty on the shell cycle in the rougher parts, and Mikey's got the sewers," said Harry, as the Twins and Ginny climbed into the battle shell. "That leaves us to search the streets in the Battle Shell."

Harry pulled out the key, starting up the vehicle but it sputtered a bit before smoke came out of the hood of the van.

"I'm guessing it's not supposed to do that," said George.

"I think your guess would be spot on, dear brother," said Fred.

A couple of minutes later, the Battle Shell managed to come to life as Harry pressed the remote, opening the large door in front of the garage area of the factory. The Battle Shell awkwardly shuddered out of the factory, as Harry hoped to all that is holy and unholy as well that he would not run into any police. His status as a thirteen year old without a driver's license would be counterproductive of not getting in trouble. He just hoped his driving skills improved since the last time.

Harry pulled back the level as the Battle Shell sputtered out of the warehouse. Don's repair job on this thing after the battle at Foot headquarters and the destruction of said vehicle caused it not run as smoothly as it would.

Harry floored the gas the Battle Shell flew up the streets, veering everywhere and nearly missing parked cars.

"Harry Potter, hero to all and savior of the Wizarding world, driving without a license," said Ginny, hanging onto the edge of her seat for dear life.

"The scandal!" cried Fred

"The horror!" yelled George.

"The trauma!" shouted Fred.

"The outrage!" screamed George.

Harry pulled into a Garbage dump and stopped the Battle Shell as the engine sputtered before dying.

"Damnit, I guess this thing isn't as ready as Don thought it was supposed to be," said Harry.

"Yes, we can see that," commented Ginny as they climbed out of the vehicle, looking around in the dump. There appeared to be no giant rats in sight anywhere.

"Spread out and meet back here in an hour," said Harry before turning to the Twins." And don't cause any trouble!"

"Us trouble?" asked George in mock horror.

"I think you may be confusing us," added Fred.

"With someone else," concluded George with a mischievous grin on his face.

Harry motioned for everyone to go and search. He was not coming home empty handed, not tonight. He didn't care if it took all night.

Leo in the air was not having any trouble. Despite flying through the air on one of tech pack gliders, and wearing the infrared goggles, he could not find any sign of his missing father. The longer it went on, the more Leo started to get agitated. They would find him but right now it just seemed like they were going around in circles, hoping to luckily stumble upon something.

Don climbed in the boarded up window of an abandoned warehouse, the fourth one in this city. One thing was sure, there seemed to be a lot of abandoned warehouses in the city the size of New York. Of course, one of them had the added bonus of having a bunch of mobsters using it as their secret hideout. Don had to slip in and out, without getting detected. They did not need to cause trouble, as anyone following them would impeded their search efforts and they could not very well have that.

Looking behind each crate and in each storeroom. Don came up empty. There were rats for sure, but none of them were of the five-foot tall talking variety. Searching one more room, Don sighed. This warehouse was a dud. He had to keep searching, so it was on to the next place.

In the sewers, Mikey was riding on a water vehicle, desperately searching through each tunnel for Master Splinter. Mikey reached the end with something that looked like it could have been a giant rat. However, when he lifted his flashlight up, it turned out to only be a couple of boxes, a two by four, and a bunch of old rags. Disappointed, Mikey continued his search throughout the sewer.

Raph drove through the streets on the Shell Cycle, getting more agitated as he pulled into each alleyway, not finding anything. This was getting insane, every minute they did not find Master Splinter, was a minute their chances of finding him lessened.

Ginny, Fred, and George met Harry back at the Battle Shell.

"Anything?" asked Harry desperately.

"I'm afraid not, Harry," said Ginny regrettably.

"Yeah, there are a lot of rats in this city," said George.

"None of them that we saw are giant, mutated, and ninja master," said Fred. "And believe us, we searched under every rock, through every window, and behind every door that we could get inside, but there is nothing to be found."

The two way radio on the Battle Shell came to life, there was still nothing.

"Status report, Harry?" asked Leo from the other end.

"Nothing, we all looked but there was nothing could be found," said Harry.

"Okay, let me check with the others," said Leo. "Take the Battle Shell and meet us just outside the warehouse."

Harry nodded as Fred, George, and Ginny followed him into the battle shell.

Leo flew above the sky on the tech pack glider, checking in with the others.

"What about you guys?" asked Leo on the shell cell.

"Nothing," said Donatello regrettably.

"Not a trace," reported Mikey from the other end.

"Damnit, where is he!" yelled Raph in anger as he went down the streets on the Shell Cycle.

"Easy, Raph, getting agitated will not solve anything," said Leo but his words fell on deaf ears.

Raph drove down the street, seeing trouble. A car jacker had tossed a man out of the car at the stoplights before entering the car and slammed on the gas, driving off.

"Buddy, you've just picked the wrong time to tick me off," declared Raph, revving up the Shell Cycle, before following in hot pursuit of the car jacker.

Raph flew down the street, as the car jacker looked in the rear view mirror. It appeared to him that a guy in a turtle costume was following him. The car jacker decided to floor it before swerving right and left, knocking trash towards Raph as he flew down the street.

"Uh, it would have to be Garbage day," groaned Raph, as he had to swerve to avoid the flying debris before following the villain down the street.

Leo looked down at the chase below, seeing his brother angrily pursuing the car jacker.

"Great," said Leo sarcastically before following the chase from above, before Raph did something stupid.

Raph followed the car jacker through a gas station that happened to have the Foot Logo on the sign. The car jacker knocked over a gas pump, in an attempt to deter his pursuer but Raph would not be denied. The car jacker flew into through a factory door before going up the steps of the factory to the upper level. Raph followed, flying up the stairs on the shell cycle. The car jacker flew out of the factory window, before touching down on the ground. Raph flew out a moment later, following him through the streets again, before pulling out his Sai and aiming it towards the tire of the vehicle. Direct hit and the tire becomes flattened. Raph throws himself off, prying open the door of the car before pulling the car jacker out and slapping him around, before throwing him on the hood, raising his hand up. His arm is grabbed from behind by Leo who had just come upon the scene with Don and Mikey.

"Not now, Raph," said Leo in a commanding voice.

Raph looked down at the car jacker before reluctantly letting him up.

"Beat it scumbag, before I change my mind," said Raph as the car jacker ran off for his life, not looking back.

"You know, this isn't helping Raph," said Leo.

Raph kicked the car before pulling off his helmet and angrily tossing it on the ground.

"It helps a lot more than you think," said Raph giving the car one last swift kick before picking his Sais and his shell cycle helmet.

"You got to admit, the guy knows how to blow off steam," remarked Mikey casually.

The Battle Shell arrived a few seconds later, sputtering and swerving left to right unexpectedly.

"Infernal contraption, the school brooms handle better than this blasted thing!" yelled Harry in frustration.

"That's a real compliment," said George sarcastically.

"Yeah, you know you have hit the bottom of the barrel when something handles worse than those stone age brooms that Hogwarts has," said Fred.

Harry tensed up as he heard the sirens.

"The police are coming, you four better get inside," said Harry.

"Maybe I should drive, Harry," suggested Don.

"Good luck," said Harry, moving over so Don could get control of the wheel. The Battle Shell drove off, still making funny noises nearly every step of the way.

"You know, driving around isn't cutting anymore, we need something to go on," said Raph.

"Well, think logically, do we have anyone who could have possibly taken Master Splinter?" asked Harry.

"I agree with Harry," said Ginny. "Think about who was at the scene when Splinter went missing."

"Well there was the Foot Elite, a bunch of Foot Ninja and..." said Mikey before stopping. "I've got it, what about the Guardians?"

"Yes, I would have to agree," said Leo logically. "If you think about it, around the same time Splinter disappeared, they vanished."

"It does make sense," agreed Don.

"Somehow, we need to hook up with one of those guys," suggested Raph.

"I have an idea," commented Harry before motioning his brothers to come in close. "So we need to..."

The lead Guardian was patrolling the streets when he came across a very strange sight. At the Shredder's old building, the Foot logo on the side slowly fizzled back to life. He needed to report this to the Council, urgently pressing the button on his wristband to reveal a holographic screen.

"Guardian, report," said the first Council Member.

"My lords, the Symbol on the Shredder's building has become active," said the Guardian.

"You had reported that," began the first Council Member.

"The Shredder," continued the second Council Member.

"Was destroyed," concluded the third Council Member.

"He has deceived us in the past," replied the Guardian.

"Yes," said the first Council Member. "Find out."

"If the Shredder," continued the second Guardian Member.

"Has indeed returned," finished the third Guardian Member.

"Understood," said the Guardian before entered the reactivated Foot Headquarters his trench coat billowing behind him. He made his way up to the top floor of the Shredder's building, through the window.

He pulled himself in and the sight that greeted him unnerved the guardian. It was the Shredder with his back turned to the Guardian.

"Shredder!" yelled the Guardian angrily before pulling out a sword, ready for battle. He leapt up, slashing him several times, but surprisingly the evil villain did not find back.

The Guardian backed off and the that thing that appeared to be the Shredder split apart, with sand going everywhere from the ragged clothes that appeared to be armor for a distance and a bowling ball rolling out of the crudely made cardboard helmet. He had been duped, and was angered. He heard snickering from the shadows and angrily swung his sword, stopping a few inches away from the throat of Mikey who had just stepped out of the shadows.

"Whoa, easy, easy, it's just us," said Mikey.

"Yeah, we are not looking for a fight," said Don quickly, attempting to reason with the angry Guardian.

"If you set an ambush for me, then prepare to fight," said the Guardian in a dangerous tone, keeping his sword close to Mikey.

"We just came looking for answers," said Leo.

"Our Master Splinter is missing and we intend to find him," said Raph.

The Guardian paused for a few seconds before giving his response.

"I cannot help you," said the Guardian in a calm tone of voice.

"Wait, you know something," said Leo. "At least tell us if he's okay."

"I can't say," said the Guardian regrettably. "Now you need to look elsewhere for your answers."

"Right, elsewhere it is," said Mikey, casually dropping a turtle shaped tracking device on the Guardian's sword. "Now how about putting that sword elsewhere."

The Guardian put his sword back in his trench coat before throwing a pellet on the ground. A cloud of smoke appeared and a few seconds later, the Guardian was gone.

"Mikey?" asked Leo.

"One Turtle tracker dutifully planted," said Mikey.

The Four Turtles followed the Guardian at a distance from the city, with Donatello utilizing a tracking device.

"Man this guy is fast," said Don. "He already cleared two city blocks in less than fifteen seconds."

"Come on, we can't lose him," said Raph, as they leaped down, following the Guardian through an alleyway. On the other end, the signal went dead.

"That appears to be the final destination," said Leo, pointing to a bland, run of the mill office building on the other end of the alley.

"Nothing special there, it just seems like an office building," said Mikey, looking the building up and down.

"So was the Shredder's place and that place nearly took us out," said Raph. "We need to find a way to get a bug inside to get some answers."

Inside the office building, a security guard was sitting at the front desk when a knock on the door was heard. The man walked outside, looking around but now no one was there. Unknowing to him, a camera disguised as a miniature turtle entered the office, building, in an attempt to find some answers.

Back in the Battle Shell, Don was controlling the camera with a joystick from inside the battle shell. The other Turtles, Harry, Fred, George, and Ginny were watching in closely. Don moved the joystick, in an attempt to get close to the security control room to see what was inside. Of course, the distraction of so many people being close to him seemed to bother the brainy terrapin.

"Do you mind?" asked Donatello. "You're sucking all the air out of my personal space."

"Sorry," said everyone in unison before backing off. Two seconds later, they all crowed around Don again.

"Okay, let's see what's behind door number one," said Don, extending the camera lense out but another security guard came from the building with cart, knocking the camera out of focus.

When Don managed to focus it, it locked onto a sign, which read "Techno Cosmic Research Institute". Under the sign there was a smaller sign with the letters "TCRI".

"Well, that's really interesting," commented Don.

"What is it?" asked Harry, who like everyone else could not see the screen due to Don blocking it due to focusing it. And a moment later, another cart rolled over the hidden camera, crushing it, so no one could have seen it anyway.

"Techno Cosmic Research Institute," answered Don.

"I'm afraid I'm not following you," said Mikey.

"Say the first letter in each word," said Donatello.

"T-C-R-I," said Mikey, frowning. "Sorry that's not ringing any...bells."

Mikey's eyes widened in sudden understanding.

"That's the...that's the," sputtered Raph.

"I think we missed something," said George.

"Yeah, do tell us old revered ones," said Fred.

"What is the big deal about the letters TCRI anyway?" asked Ginny, looking confused.

"TCRI were the letters printed on the canister of ooze that mutated us into who we are," explained Don.

Ginny's eyes widened at that as Harry frowned.

"This can't be a coincidence, no question about it" said Harry.

"Yes, I agree," said Leo. "Master Splinter could be in there. Secrets to our origin could very well lay inside."

"Therefore, we are going in there," remarked Raph, cracking his knuckles.

"We need to get to the lair to coordinate our efforts," said Leo as the Battle Shell started to turn around, heading back towards the warehouse above the lair.

"And find out everything we can about TCRI," said Harry.

In the lair, Don was researching on the computer, before pulling up a reference for TCRI.

"This is rather strange, TCRI seems to be a rather mysterious organization, not much is known about them," said Don. "All I have found is this article, detailing the guy who runs it, a Mr. Mortu."

"That's it?" asked Leo. "Well it doesn't matter, we're going in."

"We need managed to get a few brief glimpses from the shell camera in the security room before it was knocked back," said Don. "There appear to be alarm sensors on the windows and roof."

"So we need to get someone in to deactivate them," said Raph.

"I'll handle that," said Harry

"Yes, Harry and I will sneak in underneath the Invisibility Cloak, so he can deactivate the alarms on the roof," said Ginny, nodding. "But we need a diversion so we are not spotted when we sneak in."

"Yeah, it may be an ordinary office building from the outside, but it is hard to tell what may be hidden on the inside," said Harry.

"A diversion you say," said George.

"We may have just the thing for you," said Fred.

"Just let us get it," said George who went over to his bag.

"Yes, we had been looking for a chance to test it out and this looks like a great opportunity," said Fred, pulling the object from his back.

"Of course, there could be some unintended side effects for the people who are in the lobby," said George with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Then it's settled," said Leo. "We leave at once."

On the building across the street from the TCRI building, a rope with an arrow tied to it was shot into the side of the building before being secured to a TV antenna on the other end. Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey walked on the rope, from one end of the building to the other.

Harry and Ginny were underneath the cloak outside the building. Fred and George slowly crept around to the front door opening it so Harry and Ginny could quietly slip in. With a nod, they threw down the object on the floor before slipping out.

The security guard looked up at the sound of an explosion. It appeared that the floor of the main lobby of the TCRI building had been turned into a swamp of some sort. Of all the things he had expected, this was one furthest down the list. He reached over, contacting more security guards.

"We need to the area of the lobby cleared, there has been an attack," said the security guard, urgently, pressing buttons frantically.

Without a backward glance, Harry and Ginny entered the security control room, pulling off the cloak. Little did Harry and Ginny know a twelve-year-old girl with messy auburn hair and bright green eyes had seen their arrival as well as seeing the two had slipped into the security control room. The girl frowned; she wondered what was going on here but eventually decided it was not her problem that the security had a lapse and someone was breaking in.

In the security room, Harry and Ginny were looking around but there appeared to be no control devices or anything. The security control center appeared just to be a blank room with nothing inside.

"Okay, this is strange," said Harry.

"Yes, I rather agree," said Ginny. "Maybe we should try asking it for a floor plan or something, I..."

Out of nowhere a holographic floor plan popped up as Harry and Ginny exchanged a pair of bewildered looks.

"That was convenient," said Harry. "A little too convenient."

A pause for a moment as Harry briefly looked around, but there was no one in the room.

"I'm going to try something," said Harry as Ginny went to keep watch over by the doors. "Deactivate cameras on the roof and alarm system."

"Cameras and alarm system have been deactivated," remarked a voice that seemingly came from the floor plan of the building.

"Okay, you're good to go," said Harry to his brothers from the other end of the shell cell.

The Turtles were on the roof, walking over to the vent. Leo pulled out his katana before slicing the cover of the vent. It fell back to reveal a blank section with nothing there.

"A fake vent!" exclaimed Raph. "What kind of person would put a fake vent on a building?"

"The kind who want to make this place to appear normal," suggested Don.

"That doesn't change the strategy," said Leo.

"So what do you plan to do now, Leo?" asked Mikey.

"We cut through a window," said Leo simply.

"Harry, can you deactivate the alarm systems around the window?" asked Don.

Back in the security control room, Harry looked at the holographic floor plan.

"Okay, deactivate window alarms," said Harry.

"Window alarm system, deactivated," responded the floor plan.

"You are good to go," said Harry.

Outside, the Turtles climbed down from the roof, onto the window. Don pulled out another turtle shaped gadget, before putting it on the window. He pressed a button as a blade swung around and around the window, cutting at it but it came up with nothing.

"Okay, that's odd," said Don frowning. "Diamond edge blades, but it's not even scratching the surface."

"There is something awfully strange about everything in this place," said Mikey.

"Still, we need to get inside," said Leo. "Remember, there is a pretty good chance Master Splinter could be inside that building."

"Harry, we really could use an entrance right about now," said Donatello.

Harry walked around the holographic floor plan.

"Entrance point," said Harry before the holographic floor plan came to life.

"Ninth floor exhaust port, currently active," said the floor plan.

"There appears to be some exhaust port on the ninth floor, west side of the building," said Harry.

"We'll go check it out," responded Don as they climbed around to the building, but there appeared to be nothing where Harry was indicating.

"What's with it with this building?" asked Raph indignantly. "There ain't anything here."

Don waved his hand around the building, feeling hot air coming from beneath it.

"No, feel that," said Don as the other three Turtles waved their hands in front of the exhaust port. "There's air coming, this has to be it. There must be some sort of hologram, obscuring the building from view."

"I'll go first," said Mikey excitedly.

"Mikey, wait..." started Don but Mikey stuck his head it. A bolt of energy materialized before blasting Mikey full on.

The blast connected with Mikey as Mikey flew off the side of the building, taking Don with him. The two Turtles plummeted down, towards the concrete pavement below.


	26. Chapter 26: Search for Splinter Part II

**Chapter Twenty Six: The Search for Splinter Part Two**

Don and Mikey accelerated downwards from the building, screaming as they plummeted towards their doom. As they fell, everything seemed to slow down.

"Don, I have an idea," said Mikey. "Kick off of me."

"Right," said Don, kicking off of Mikey's shell, giving himself enough momentum to spring onto the wall. He extended his Bo staff out and Mikey whipped out his nunchucks, wrapping it around Don's Bo staff before hanging down, just about ten feet from hitting the ground. Don pulled him up.

"That was a little too close," said Mikey. "Seriously, a psychotic laser in an exhaust system. Makes you almost think they have something to hide by not letting anyone get it no matter what."

"Makes sense," said Don, who along with Mikey had scaled the building, right back up to Leo and Raph before speaking to Harry. "Harry, the exhaust system his booby trapped, could you somehow deactivate the defense system?"

"I'll have your answer in a minute," said Harry before walking over to the holographic floor plan. "Exhaust system defenses deactivate."

"Phantom exhaust port and defenses down," said the holographic floor plan in a monotone voice.

"Harry!" yelled Ginny; backing off as two ill tempered looking guards covered in slime entered the security control room entered.

Harry quickly rushed forward to protect his friend, weapon in hand and quickly bashed the flat end against the chest of one of the guards. He flew back before the other guard pulled out a stick. He pressed a button on it and it appeared to be electrified. Harry barely managed to block the shock stick with his double-edged sword but Ginny kicked the security guard out of the way.

"Let's go," said Harry, placing his invisibility cloak in his pocket as Ginny followed him outside of the room. Two more security guards had joined the chase, all wielding the sticks with electricity coming from it.

The guards raised their sticks up; their eyes appeared to be glowing a sinister blue color as they closed in on Harry and Ginny. Ginny pulled out the Tonfa that Harry gave her as Harry pulled out his double-edged sword. If they were going to go down, they were going to go down fighting.

The Turtles pulled themselves in the building looking around. They opened a door, revealing a very bland and blank looking hallway.

"Man, the inside looks just as boring as the outside," said Raph.

"There has to be more in here than meets the eye," said Leo. "Spread out and go through all these rooms. Meet back here in five minutes. "

The four exchanged nods, each picking a door at random.

The four security guards raised their electrified sticks but Harry and Ginny managed to leap over them at the last minute, causing them to lose there balance briefly, giving them time to turn down another corridor.

"This way," said Harry desperately as he and Ginny ran down the hallway, which appeared to be no different from the one they left.

Harry and Ginny heard the security guards coming, backing off slowly. As they hit the wall, Harry's arm went right through the wall.

"Harry, I think the wall may be like the barrier at King's Cross," said Ginny. "I think we can go right through to avoid them."

Harry nodded before Ginny and Harry stepped through the holographic illusion of a wall. A minute later, the four security guards, joined by the TCRI CEO, the man known as Mr. Mortu, arrived on the scene. Mortu, a gray haired middle-aged fellow with blue eyes and glasses, arrived and looked around to see where the intruders had gone. The intruders seemed to have been lost.

"This is unacceptable," said Mortu to his security guards calmly before they walked off.

Harry and Ginny looked to see where they were. It seemed like they were in some kind of mysterious chamber and the room contained a lot of advanced technology.

"Harry, you're the expert on Muggle technology, is this kind of stuff normal?" asked Ginny with a frown.

"No, I'm afraid I don't recognize any of this technology," said Harry looking around, looking rather amazed at all the interesting high tech devices that were in the chamber. "We must keep on the move, I sense Master Splinter is close."

Ginny nodded, following Harry around the chamber, wondering what exactly was going on here.

Elsewhere in the TCRI building, the four Turtles arrived back at their meeting spot.

"All of these rooms are the same," said Raph.

"I don't get this, none of it makes any sense," added Don.

Leo tensed up, hearing footsteps. He signaled for his brothers to conceal themselves. A moment later, a couple of TCRI workers wheeling a platform with a dozen barrels on it walked past where the Turtles just were.

"I'm glad we aren't on guard duty tonight," said one of the workers. "Someone snuck what appeared to be a portable swamp in the lobby. The guards managed to remove it but it wasn't an easy task and now a dozen of them have to report to decontamination."

"Poor slobs," said the second worker as they continued to wheel the cart with the barrels past.

The Turtles dropped down. It appeared that the two TRCI workers had come from an elevator.

"Don, you and Mikey see where that elevator goes," said Leo. "Raph, you and I will follow those two. Let's go."

Raph and Leo shadowed the two TCRI workers while Michelangelo and Donatello quickly made their way towards the elevator.

Agent .19 frowned as she was checking the perimeters around the building. It appeared that half of the security defenses have been tampered with, but that would require someone to get into the main security room to play around with the system.

The girl that had saw Harry and Ginny earlier had entered the room where her mother was. She attempted to sneak past Agent .19, as strictly speaking, she was not supposed to go exploring in the TCRI building due to the potential danger that some of the technology that existed.

"And just where have you been young lady?" asked Agent .19, not turning her back from her laptop as she continued to check the security schematics.

"I went out for a walk to catch a breath of fresh air," said the girl. "I had nothing else better to do and it was getting boring being cooped up in this room."

"And what did I tell you about wandering outside of this room?" asked Agent .19 rhetorically.

"You said not to do it," replied the girl in an exasperated voice. "I still don't know what the big deal is..."

"No, I wouldn't expect you to see, as you're reckless and young," said Agent .19 in a regrettable tone of voice. "Still, did you by any chance see anything when you went out?"

"Why?" asked the girl in a slightly challenging tone of voice.

"Hailey, I need to know if anyone has been near the security control room or not," said Agent .19 in a patient voice, trying not hard to lose her temper with her daughter.

"Oh yeah, mother, there were two people, a girl and a boy," said Hailey. "I couldn't quite see what the girl looked like, but the boy had green eyes, almost like mine come to think of it, maybe exactly like mine and his hair was also messy like mine, but black instead of auburn. Oh yeah and he had a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. I still fail to see what this has to do with anything."

Agent .19 froze, frowning attempting to think, something about this description sounded extremely familiar to her and the lightning bolt shaped scar rang a bell. Her memory wasn't completely there yet, but she needed to see this mysterious boy to jar her remaining memories, including the all-important piece about her identity.

"Mom, are you still with the physical world?" asked Hailey.

"Hailey, this is extremely important, you need to stay here," said Agent .19. "I need to find this boy you saw and I need to do it. Locating him could finally bring back all my memories."

Agent .19 walked off quickly as Hailey looked on before following her mother from a close distance, completely disobeying her orders. She was curious at what made her mother react like that.

Don and Mikey were in the elevator that the two workers had left earlier.

"Wow, twenty two buttons and ten floors," said Mikey. "This is one whacked out elevator."

"Let's try one," said Don, pressing one of the buttons. The elevator shut before appearing to move up but as it opened, the floor they arrived on appeared to be completely similar to the floor they left.

"Maybe another button," suggested Mikey, as he reached forward, pressing a different button.

Of course, this was nothing as once again, the floor they arrived on was no different looking from the floor they left.

"All the floors are the same," said Don in an agitated voice.

"Yeah, just like the rooms," said Mikey before hearing a couple of security guards come for the elevator. They quickly flipped up, clinging to the ceiling as the security guards entered the elevator.

"Mortu is so over reacting," said the man who entered the elevator. "I wasn't even around that stuff in the lobby to touch it."

"Yeah but you touched Newman and he touched that stuff in the lobby," said the female security guard.

"Newman," grumbled the male security guard in a snide voice before pressing a series of buttons. A small screen above the buttons revealed a picture of what appeared to be a sinister looking alien brain, complete with eyes and a mouth. The elevator began to head towards its destination.

Harry and Ginny had reached the end of the chamber. There appeared to be a door, which Harry and Ginny opened, along with a long corridor filled with what appeared to be dozens of metal exosuits shaped like humans, with an opening where the stomach would be.

"This is getting a bit too weird for my tastes," remarked Ginny.

"Yeah, what is the deal with all the metal exosuits?" muttered Harry frowning before looking around. "Master Splinter is close, I can feel it."

Ginny nodded, as she followed Harry down the corridor.

Elsewhere in the TCRI building, Raph and Leo were following the two workers with the barrels on the cart. They walked right through the wall. The two turtles looked on in awe.

"Looks like those two have given us the slip," remarked Raphael.

"Maybe not," said Leo, pulling his katana out and placing it into the wall. "Holographic, just like the window. Come on, they ought to be on the other side."

Leo and Raph casually stepped through what appeared to be a solid wall on the surface but really was another illusion within the TCRI building.

The elevator that Don and Mikey hitched a ride on arrived at its destination. The two security guards stepped out with Mikey and Don following behind at a discrete distance. The two guards climbed into a tube that filled up with air pressure before shooting them down into a pit of some sort that vaguely resembled the inside of a stomach.

"They went down there," said Mikey looking down.

"Then we are going to follow," said Don.

"Yeah but that place looks like a giant stomach," remarked Mikey. "So I don't want to know what down there entrails, I mean, entails."

Mikey and Don climbed over the railing, slowly lowering themselves down towards the pit. They saw five or six security guards enter the area. There appeared to a series of platforms, with openings in them, going back like a bleacher. Above them, hoses of some sort lowered down, directly above the platforms.

Two workers came over with barrels, filling tubes connected to the hoses with some kind of blue fluid. The security guards walked over, as Mikey and Don hung upside down, watching closely. The security guard reached up and slowly pulled at his face, pulling some kind of artificial skin off, revealing a metallic head underneath the skin.

Mikey began to scream but Don expertly clapped his hand over his brother's mouth to avoid being heard. The other security guards quickly followed suit, revealing several metallic heads lying underneath the artificial skin from the face.

"Can this get any weirder?" asked Mikey rhetorically.

Of course it could as they peeled their clothing off slowly to reveal there was a metal exosuit underneath. Further down and in an opening of the stomach revealed that it was inhabited. Each of the suits had what could only be described as an alien brain within the stomach cavity, with slime dripping down the front of its face.

Mikey and Don held their hands over each others mouths to prevent from screaming as the alien brains found their way onto the platforms. The close and exosuits were put in another tube, which caused the contaminated exosuits and clothing to melt inside.

"Decontamination sequence beginning," said a voice as the alien brains were sprayed with the blue fluid that was loaded into the process. They all squirmed and screamed in anguish as the fluid was scouring their skin.

The lead Guardian arrived at the chambers of the Council. They sat behind their desk, staring at him.

"You summoned me my lords," said the Guardian.

"Security said they removed a tracking device from you this evening," said one of the Council Members.

"Tell us how did it get planted?" continued the second Council Member.

"Without your knowledge," concluded the third Council Member.

"The Turtles are a resourceful bunch," said the Guardian with a sigh.

"Security also removed one of their destroyed tracking devices from the lobby tonight," said the first Council Member. "Also a mysterious swamp was placed in the lobby, as an apparent diversionary tactic."

"We are very troubled Guardian," said the second Council Member. "We Utroms have remained hidden all these years."

"Never, in a thousand years, has one of our domains been breached on earth," said the third Council Member.

"My lords, the Turtles don't really know what is up in this building," remarked the Guardian. "I doubt they have any idea how to even get inside."

"Actually, security was involved in a short altercation with their human brother, the one known simply as Harry, and one of his friends," said Mr. Mortu who had just walked into the room at this moment. "He also managed to disrupt our defenses around the building, along with our holo-shield in one of the entrances. Thus compromising our security and anonymity among humans."

"Your point being..." said the lead Guardian.

"The Turtles are in the house," said Mr. Mortu grimly.

"Find them," ordered all three members of the Council in unison.

"Right away, Council," said Mr. Mortu before walking off to put all of the security on full alert.

Mikey and Don were still hanging upside down when an alarm went off in the TCRI building. Both of the Turtles exchanged befuddled looks.

"All security on full alert," boomed the voice. "We have a breach, I repeat we have a breach. Intruder alert."

"Uh, oh, I think we've been found out," said Mikey, exchanging horrified looks with Don.

"Blast in, intruders," said one of the alien brains.

"My skin can't take another scouring," whined the second alien brain.

"There they are," yelled the third Alien Brain, looking up and seeing Don and Mikey hanging upside down.

"Looks like the jig is up, Mikey," said Don, as a half a dozen angry looking alien brains flew at them on hovering disk, lasers blasting.

"Ya think, Don," said Mikey sarcastically as the two turtles pulled themselves up, avoiding the rapid laser fire, running like made.

Leo and Raph were walking in the hallway when two alien brains in exosuits with electrified sticks along with five more on hovering disks blasting lasers

"What are those things?" asked Raph as he ducked laser fire.

"My guess is big trouble," said Leo before turning around and running away from the attackers. "This way, come on."

Raph reluctantly followed but they were met with three more exosuits with alien brains in the hole where the stomach was and wielding electrified sticks

"Now what?" asked Raph, kicking one of the exosuits back before blocking one of the sticks with his Sai and pulling it out before throwing it at the exosuit leg, causing an electrified wave to go through the exosuit. The alien brain abandoned ship as the exosuit blew to bits.

"Through here," said Leo, pointing to a door through the side where the two groups were closing in. Raph followed him, but they were followed by the crazed alien brains in the exosuits and on the hovering disks, the devices kept blasting their high tech lasers at the two Turtles.

Leo and Raph rushed down the hallway, meeting Harry and Ginny at the end.

"What the..." said Harry before his eyes widened at seeing their pursuers.

"Come on, we need to keep moving," commanded Leo as he ran down another corridor, followed by Raph, Ginny, and Harry, with the lasers barely missing with their backs as they turned the corner.

"This is getting stranger by the moment," said Ginny. "First this weird building where nothing is as it seemed and now we are chased by those things..."

"Aliens!" winced Harry as he nearly missed getting blasted by one of the hovering disks. "It just had to be aliens."

"Lucky for us," said Raph sarcastically. "And to top that all off, we still don't know where Master Splinter is."

"He's close," said Leo. "Just a feeling I have."

"Leo's right," said Harry. "Right now, we need to keep moving."

Harry, Ginny, Raph, and Leo reached what appeared to be the end of the line as they were trapped but a door opened from the side of them, revealing Donatello and Michelangelo arriving on the scene.

"Interesting meeting you guys here," said Mikey.

"This way," pointed Leo to a pathway to the side of Mikey and Don. Harry, Ginny, and Raph followed Don and Mikey but Leo leaped up, knocking over a large piece of equipment, blocking the doorway so their pursuers were stalled in going after them.

They walked down a ways before reaching a large room. The sight shocked them, there appeared to be all kinds of high tech controls, along with a bunch of still alien brains floating in some kind of fluid inside large containers.

"What is this place, a morgue?" asked Raph.

Harry looked over anxiously before spotting something unnerving.

"I hope not, because look," said Harry, pointing to a section of the containers which contained Master Splinter.

"Master Splinter," whispered Mikey in a horrified voice, looking at his unmoving Sensei. "Is he?"

"I don't think so," said Donatello, looking over at the computer screen right by the controls. "From what I can gather from this technology, he's mostly is stasis."

"Well, let's cut him out," said Raph.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Ginny.

"Ginny's right, we might do more harm than good," said Leo.

"Don, figure something out," whined Mikey. "We can't just leave him here."

"Okay, give me a minute to figure out this alien technology," said Don, frowning in deep concentration.

A moment later, a huge explosion was heard from outside the room as the alien brains came back for more, in the exosuits and on the hovering disks. One of the alien brains turned to another.

"Careful with your weapons discharge, we cannot afford to damaged the techno-organic equipment in this chamber," commanded the alien brain.

Of course, the trigger-happy alien brain blasted wickedly at the Turtles, Harry, and Ginny, accidentally blasting one of the pieces of equipment.

"What did I just say?" asked the first alien brain.

"Sorry," said the second alien brain sheepishly before Leo, Raph, and Mikey leaped into action as Harry and Ginny guarded Don so he could attempt to figure out the technology.

From high above, Leo came down, katanas raised and sliced the hovering disk out from underneath the alien brain, causing him to fly into the guard. Mikey wrapped his nunchucks around a shock stick before Raph cracked one of the exosuits back with a vicious kick. He then picked up the stick, tossing it at the back of the leg, causing the exosuit to be filled with an electrical wave before the stick went dead. The exosuit went dead before the alien brain wiggled his tentacles, causing the exosuit to be brought back to life.

"These guys mean business," said Raph, barely pushing back the exosuit that appeared to have exceptional strengths and reflexes.

Mikey batted two of the exosuits back with the nunchucks as Leo engaged a shock stick wielding exosuit with a katana. One of the alien brains on the hover disk flew towards Raph, blasting its lasers but Raph's leaping kick caused him to spin out of control, blasting his laser frantically while spinning around aimlessly.

"Oh no!" yelled Harry as one of the laser blasts got dangerously close to the containment unit Splinter was in. Harry leaped up, taking the bullet, causing him to fly back into the next room.

"Harry!" yelled Ginny in horror before rushing into the next room. The Four Turtles followed Ginny and Harry appeared to be lying on the stairs leading up to some kind of platform with two circular electrical devices hovering over.

"Harry, are you okay bro?" asked Mikey, who looked down as Harry seemed to have hit his head hard on the edge of the stairs.

"I'm fine," said Harry groggily as he pulled himself onto the platform to regain his senses. Ginny and the Turtles followed him.

Mr. Mortu entered the room that they had just left, surveying the damage.

"What have you done?" asked Mortu in horror to his fellow Utroms before quickly rushing towards the next room. The horror had just begun as he had saw the six intruders had moved onto the Transmat. "Stop, you must listen to me."

The Turtles looked up, their sights fixed on Mortu, looking rather confused.

"You must get off that platform, immediately," said Mortu desperately as he saw a wave of blue light slowly flash onto the platform form.

"I can't move my feet!" yelled Mikey in horror.

Mortu rushed over to the computer, frantically attempting to override the Transmat controls.

"I cannot stop it," said Mortu regrettably. "It's too late."

Agent .19 rushed into the room, praying she was not too late. As she looked up, she saw the two electrical devices on the platform slowly fizzle to life. Moving forward, she saw Harry and she fell to her knees, clutching her head in pain. It was all quickly and rather painfully coming back to her.

Harry looked up to the woman who had entered the room. She looked rather familiar and if Harry didn't know any better...he only saw pictures...but it couldn't be...Dumbledore said she was dead. Before he could give this matter any further, the Turtles, Ginny, and Harry were engulfed by a blue light, slowly dematerializing partial by partial before vanishing completely into the light as it was blasted out the top of the TCRI building.

Agent .19 pulled herself up, looking around in frustration. It was all too clear to her all her memories having returned with the exception of a five minute period shortly after the defeat of Lord Voldemort and a few other select memories.. On Halloween night thirteen years ago, a miscalculation in her spell work had indirectly caused her to live, when she only intended to save Harry. As her son, the four Turtles, and her son's friend disappeared, Lily Potter, also known as Agent .19, looked on helpfully unable to do anything to stop them from being transported to Merlin knows where.


End file.
